LibGuides at USA: Primary Sources: What is a Primary Source?

Primary Sources: A Definition

Primary Sources are materials produced by participants or observers at the time of an event or during a particular span of years.

They are "original" in that the recording of these event or experience originates with the participants or direct observers.

Some examples of Primary Sources:

Diaries, journals, letters, speeches, correspondence, autobiographies, oral histories, life writings
Official documents or records from government or private organizations (minutes, reports, etc.)
Books, magazines, advertisements, journals and newspapers produced at the time of the event or during a span of time in question
Court decisions, transcripts, and other legal papers
Research data (reports, market surveys, public opinion polls, statistics)
Films, photographs, paintings, video recordings, sound recordings
Novels, poetry, and plays
Artifacts such as works of art, tools, and weapons

Note: The nature and value of a source cannot be determined without reference to the topic and questions it is meant to answer. The same document may be a primary source in one investigation and secondary in another. The search for primary sources does not, therefore, automatically include or exclude any category of records or documents.

Totally confused? Don't worry, just ask one of your friendly reference librarians!

Check out this handy handout from the University of Calfornia Irvine that helps you analyze primary source content.

It can be tricky...let this helpful website from Yale University give you some tips on determining whether something is or isn't a primary source.

Secondary Sources: A Definition

You may be asking yourself, how are primary sources different than secondary sources. Well, here is your answer!

Secondary sources are materials that interpret, analyze, describe, or explain primary sources. Textbooks, encyclopedias, biographies, scholarly books, and journal articles are examples of common secondary sources. These sources are "secondary" in that usually they are one step removed from the event or time period about which they comment or analyze.

The following video tutorial from on YouTube offers some good illustrations of the difference between primary and secondary sources.