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Primary or secondary sources uvic.ca/library/research/tips/primvsec/index.php

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Primary sources

are the original materials or evidence to be analyzed, evaluated, contextualized, or synthesized in the research process. in the Social Science and Humanities, they are usually from the time period under study and offer first-hand accounts or direct evidence responsive to the research question. in the Science & Engineering fields, they are the first articles published formally describing a research project or study.

The history how to: primary sources guide has lots more information.

Some examples of primary sources include:

Social Sciences & Humanities Science & Engineering

Primary Sources

Historical newspapers Documentary photographs or videos Corporate or organizational records Works of art, literature, or music Eyewitness accounts or testimony Interviews Diaries, journals, or letters Statutes, laws, or regulations Speeches, legal decisions, or case law Archaeological or historical artifacts Survey research

Articles describing the research design and findings of original studies Articles describing new experiments or sets of experiments Reports on original research or observations Technical reports Patents or industrial designs

Secondary sources

analyze, evaluate, contextualize, or synthesize evidence. They often give second-hand accounts based on engagement with primary sources. in the Social Science and Humanities, they comment on or analyze texts, oral communications, artifacts, or archives of primary sources. in the Science & Engineering fields, because many primary sources are scholarly articles reporting first-hand on new studies or research, the secondaries often synthesize

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or analyze many such results.

Some examples of Secondary sources include:

Social Sciences & Humanities Science & Engineering

Secondary Sources

Scholarly journal articles Scholarly books or monographs Interpretive newspaper or magazine articles and editorials Interpretive blog posts Book, art, music, or theater reviews A non-eyewitness record of an event written by someone without a close connection to the event

Quantitative meta-analysis articles that use statistical methods to determine relationships or patterns in the published scholarly literature on a topic Systematic review articles that use a research question to select and synthesize published evidence relevant to that question Survey articles that summarize an entire field of research Scholarly book reviews

Adapted from "Primary, Secondary & Tertiary Sources" (http://collegeresearch.gmu.edu/primary-secondary-tertiary/) by George Mason University licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Primary vs secondary (1:48 min)

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