Primary & Secondary sources

What are primary sources -  (Te Puna Māturanga o Aotearoa The National Library of New Zealand)

Primary sources are original, first-hand, often unedited records of an event. They are created as people experience events and record what they saw, heard, and felt. Primary sources are characterised by their content, regardless of their format. A primary source can be a:

• book, newspaper, document, manuscript, journal, letter, or diary

• photograph, poster, video recording, or painting

• speech, interview, or audio recording

• email, tweet, or social media post

• research data

• physical artefact – like clothing, a tool, or a building.

Writers, researchers, artists, historians and teachers frequently use primary sources because they offer an original eyewitness account of an event. By reading, viewing, or listening to them you can discover and understand past events and lives. Primary sources can overturn generalisations about historical events. They can become iconic (like the Treaty of Waitangi) and can define a period of history and our understanding of it.

Secondary sources

A secondary source is an item developed after an event has occurred. Often it is created by someone who did not experience first-hand or take part in the event.   A secondary source interprets and explains an event. 

Secondary sources are works that interpret or analyse a historical event. They are often accounts of the past created by people writing about events after they happened, such as books, films, essays, etc. Secondary sources are not unique and can be replaced if lost or stolen.

Secondary sources provide good overviews of a subject, so are particularly useful if you need to find about an area that's new to you. They are also helpful because you can find keywords to describe a subject area, as well as key authors and key references that you can use to do further reading and research.