What does primary source mean

However, a book written by a professor that analyzes the various writings of Vietnam immigrants and interprets the experience of those immigrants is a secondary source for this research.

Tutorial home Next: Examples of Primary Sources ». Site Search. Articles, books, and more. Libraries Web. UC Search Library Search site. Oral histories, newspaper or journal articles, and memoirs or autobiographies are examples of primary sources created after the event or time in question but offering first-hand accounts.

Primary sources may be transformed from their original format into a newer one, such as when materials are published or digitized, but the contents are still primary. There are many primary sources available online today, but many more are still available in their original format, in archives, museums, libraries, historical sites, and elsewhere. Secondary sources usually use primary sources and offer interpretation, analysis, or commentary. These resources often present primary source information with the addition of hindsight or historical perspective.

Common examples include criticisms, histories, and magazine, journal, or newspaper articles written after the fact. Some secondary sources may also be considered primary or tertiary sources - the definition of this term is not set in stone.

Tertiary sources are further developments of secondary sources, often summaries of information found in primary and secondary sources and collecting many sources together. Some examples of tertiary sources are encyclopedias and textbooks. Secondary sources include comments on, interpretations of, or discussions about the original material.

Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that evaluate or criticize someone else's original research. A tertiary source is a distillation and collection of primary and secondary sources. This video tutorial from the Hartness Library on You Tube offers some good illustrations of the difference between primary and secondary sources.

It also includes an overview of how primary and secondary sources can vary based on a research topic. To view chat hours, submit an e-mail question, or view other contact options, please visit the Ask a Librarian webpage.

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If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. A v. Annals of America and other books containing reprints of historical documents e.