Research Databases & Information

Primary Sources - original documents or original research from the time period of your topic.

Secondary Sources - works that synthesize, summarize, and/or interpret primary sources.

Primary and secondary source examples

Primary source Secondary source

Novel Article analyzing the novel

Painting Exhibition catalog explaining the painting

Letters and diaries written by a historical figure Biography of the historical figure

How to tell if a source is primary or secondary

To determine if something can be used as a primary or secondary source in your research, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself:

• Does this source come from someone directly involved in the events I’m studying (primary) or from another researcher (secondary)?

• Am I interested in evaluating the source itself (primary) or only using it for background information (secondary)?

• Does the source provide original information (primary) or does it comment upon information from other sources (secondary)?

Examples of sources that can be primary or secondary

A secondary source can become a primary source depending on your research question. If the person, context, or technique that produced the source is the main focus of your research, it becomes a primary source.

Reviews and essays

If your paper is about the novels of Toni Morrison, a magazine review of one of her novels is a secondary source. But if your paper is about the critical reception (how individuals criticized the work at that time period) of Toni Morrison’s work, the review is a primary source.

What do you use primary sources for?

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

• Make new discoveries

• Provide credible evidence for your arguments

• Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered unoriginal or unreliable.

What do you use secondary sources for?

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often synthesize a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

• Gain background information on the topic

• Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas

• Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access directly (e.g. private letters or physical documents located elsewhere)

When you conduct a literature review or meta analysis, you can consult secondary sources to gain a thorough overview of your topic. If you want to mention a paper or study that you find cited in a secondary source, seek out the original source and cite it directly.

https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/primary-and-secondary-sources/#:~:text=Examples%20include%20interview%20transcripts%2C%20statistical,%2C%20reviews%2C%20and%20academic%20books.