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What are Primary and Secondary Sources?
Sources of information are vital to historians and knowledge seekers. Understanding the difference between primary and secondary sources is necessary so that research can be conducted efficiently and accurately. A primary source must be produced by a person or people who were involved in or witnessed the event that relates to the research question being asked. A secondary source can be anything that correlates to the research question and seek to understand, answer, or describe the events in question. It is important to understand not only the differences between primary and secondary sources but also how to identify and authenticate the truthfulness and usefulness of the information being related.
Patrick Rael, a professor of history, describes the need for evaluating primary sources as understanding the author and their purpose, analyzing the argument being presented, how the author’s ideas affect the information and relate to our own ideas, determining if the information is true and/or accurate, and comparing the information to other sources.[1] Rael details the methods of determining the value, authenticity, and necessity of a primary source which are all vital to conducting proper research. Rael also details the methods for evaluating secondary sources in a similar manner, relaying that a secondary source has value when its content is understood, verified as truthful and mindfully researched, and applicable to the research question being asked.[2] An overlapping theme between the approaches to primary and secondary sources is the concept that the researcher must first understand and have a fortified question that they are asking. The topic of the research guides the search and adoption of different sources throughout the research process.
These concepts are also itemized and detailed within Mary L. Rampolla’s A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, with an added warning that “sources, like witnesses in a murder case, often lie.”[3] Primary and secondary sources can both easily fall prey to human perception and lying. Just because someone was actually present to witness the events as they unfolded does not necessarily mean they will tell the truth about it. An important step in the research process is fact-checking information by comparing and contrasting it to other sources. If you have sources that disagree with each other about the factual happenings or the analysis of the happenings then you must relate this disagreement because it could be pertinent to your analysis of the subject.
Examples of Primary and Secondary Sources
The Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent
How did the War of 1812 end and what were the conditions of peace between America and Britain? To answer this question, we can utilize a primary source that is available to view in online format in the National Archives catalog. The Treaty of Ghent marked the beginning of peace between America and Britain and could be utilized as a primary source to answer the aforementioned research question. The original copy of the treaty is available to view online at catalog.archives.gov.[4] This is a primary source because it is a document written during the period in question, relating to the War of 1812, and detailing the terms of peace between the two nations.
Following through with this research question, an example of a secondary source would be the scholarly article The Battle of New Orleans and the Treaty of Ghent by James A. Carr originally published in Diplomatic History now available to be view on JSTOR. This article analyzes the correlation between the battle of New Orleans which was a turning point in the war and the eventual ratification of the Treaty of Ghent.[5] The article would be considered a secondary source because it was written to analyze the event in question, not by someone who personally witnessed or was involved in the event, but by a fellow historian in reflection of the event. Both sources provide different information and viewpoints that relate to the research question previously proposed.
The Twelve Tables of Rome
The Twelve Tables of Rome
What comprises and dictates the foundation of Ancient Rome’s laws? To answer this question, we can utilize the primary source available through Yale Law School’s Avalon Project; The Twelve Tables is a list of laws regulating Ancient Roman society and its citizens.[6] This is a primary source because it is the direct translation of laws written into stone in Ancient Rome.
To understand this primary source we can then turn to The Twelve Tables and Their Origins: An Eighteenth Century Debate by Michael Steinberg which details the contents of the Twelve Tables and the debates surrounding their authenticity and the reality of what place they had in Ancient Roman society.[7] This is a secondary source because it is the evaluation of the Twelve Tables by a historian in comparison with other historians' opinions throughout the eighteenth century. Both sources help answer the research question by giving information vital to understanding Ancient Roman law.
[1] Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: How to Read a Primary Source
[2] Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: How to Read a Secondary Source
[3] Mary L. Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, p. 13
[4] National Archives and Records Administration, Treaty of Ghent
[5] James A. Carr, The Battle of New Orleans and the Treaty of Ghent
[6] The Avalon Project, The Twelve Tables
[7] Michael Steinberg, The Twelve Tables and Their Origins: An Eighteenth Century Debate
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