Why are primary sources important? Why is it useful to distinguish them from secondary, or even tertiary, sources?
Review the videos, tutorials, and practice quizzes to get a deeper understanding of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, and why and how recognizing the differences can be helpful in your research.
Discipline | Primary Sources | Secondary Sources |
---|---|---|
Art |
Sculpture, painting, mixed media, drawings, sketches, photographs, architecture, jewelry, other forms of art not included here such as musical composition | Reviews or criticism about the specific artwork |
Literature |
Novels, poetry, personal essays, letters, diaries, journals, personal papers/correspondence, lyrics, autobiography, memoirs | Criticism and interpretations of written works |
History |
Speeches, debates, newspaper articles written at the time of event documenting the event, maps |
Sources about an event written after the fact |
Social Sciences/Sciences |
Original research such as surveys, collected data, observation, longitudinal studies documented in scholarly and peer-reviewed journal articles | Literature reviews, newspaper or magazine articles about original scholarly research |
Performing Arts![]() |
Actual performance, film, movie, streaming media | Source that critiques or reviews the performance |
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