Primary Sources: Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary sources are original materials and first hand accounts of an event. They are typically created at the time the event took place.  Examples:

• Letters, diaries, autobiographies, oral history, manuscripts

• Speeches, personal narratives, interviews

• Newspaper articles written at the time of the event; photographs

• Government documents, hearings, reports, statistical data, trial transcripts

• Original research (research studies published in academic journals)

• Works of art, literature, music

• Artifacts, tools, clothing, furniture, coins

Secondary sources are documents written after an event has occurred, providing secondhand accounts of that event, person, or topic. These sources interpret or analyze events. They are usually written by individuals who are at least one step removed from the event. Examples:

• Scholarly or popular books
• Reference books
• Textbooks
• News Reports
• Encyclopedias
• Journal Articles

​While primary sources provide first-hand accounts, secondary sources offer different perspectives and conclusions of those accounts. Secondary sources can also provide background information and analysis of an event or work, and these sources can also give historical perspective based on other events that have taken place since the original event or work.