Primary sources provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented. Often these sources are created at the time when the events or conditions are occurring, but primary sources can also include autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories recorded later. Primary sources are characterized by their content, regardless of whether they are available in original format, in microfilm/microfiche, in digital format, or in published format.
Research involves examining primary sources (original material) to test and validate the point of view or interpretation of the material later published as a reference work or secondary source.
A primary source is direct evidence to the event, person, or subject of research, however on its own it may be difficult to interpret.
Use primary sources to:
Find evidence that challenge interpretations or support one scholar's interpretation over that of another,
Write an interpretation of your own,
Look for more primary sources for evidence to confirm or refute your thesis.
When you present your conclusions, you will have produced another secondary source to aid others in their research.
Primary sources are the foundations of histories. Evaluation of the sources is essential to scholarly research.
Secondary sources describe, analyse, interpret or draw conclusions from a primary source. Secondary sources are created after the studied event/work took place or the studied work was created. They can therefore take into consideration other events and place a primary source in its historical context. Secondary sources are not evidence but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence.
Scholars generally use the term secondary source to refer to books, sections of edited books, journal articles, encylopedia and dictionary entries, newspaper and magazine reports and so on. This chart shows the distinction between primary and secondary sources:
| Primary Source | Secondary Source | |
|---|---|---|
| History | Bayeux Tapestry | Book: The Battle of Hastings : sources and interpretations |
| Anthropology | Field notes | Article in Journal of African cultural studies |
| Literature | Jane Austen manuscript | Book: Jane Austen's Literary Manuscripts: A Study of the Novelist's development through the surviving papers |
| Politics | Political cartoon |
Book- Philippine cartoons : political caricature of the American era, 1900-1941 |
Note that science disciplines may define secondary sources differently. This guide addresses the Social Sciences and Humanities definition.
In the table above, all examples of secondary sources are books whereas all primary sources are in non-book format. However, it is frequently the case that primary sources are reproduced in book format. They are still considered to be primary sources.
It is important to locate, read and refer to secondary sources in your writing.
Secondary sources:
Evaluation of sources is essential to scholarly research. Consider the following when looking for reliable secondary sources:
Edith Cowan University acknowledges and respects the Noongar people, who are
the traditional custodians of the land upon which its campuses stand and its programs
operate.
In particular ECU pays its respects to the Elders, past and present, of the Noongar
people, and embrace their culture, wisdom and knowledge.