Primary and Secondary Sources and the
Research Process

Primary Sources

A primary source is an original document containing firsthand information about a topic.

Different fields of study may use different types of primary sources. Common examples of a primary source are:

• Diaries

• Interviews

• Letters

• Original works of art

• Photographs

• Works of literature

Secondary Sources

A secondary source contains commentary on or discussion about a primary source. The most important feature of secondary sources is that they offer an interpretation of information gathered from primary sources. Common examples of a secondary source are:

• Biographies

• Dissertations

• Indexes, Abstracts, Bibliographies (used to locate a secondary source)

• Journal Articles

• Monographs

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

Sometimes, the same source might be a primary source for one research paper and a secondary source for another. It all depends on the relationship of the source to your research question. For example, if you are researching Franklin Roosevelt's life, the book No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin would be a secondary source. If you were researching the literary style of Ms. Goodwin, it would be a primary source.
*From Joyner Library, East Carolina University

Additional examples of primary and secondary sources relating to a particular subject:

	Primary Source	Secondary Source
Art	Original artwork	Article critiquing the piece of art
History	Slave diary	Book about the Underground Railroad
Literature	Poem	Treatise on a particular genre of poetry
Political Science	Treaty	Essay on Native American land rights
Theater	Videotape of a performance	Biography of a playwright

*From Bowling Green State University, Library User Education, Primary vs. Secondary Sources,

Primary sources are first hand sources; secondary sources are second-hand sources. For example, suppose there had been a car accident. The description of the accident which a witness gives to the police is a primary source because it comes from someone actually there at the time. The story in the newspaper the next day is a secondary source because the reporter who wrote the story did not actually witness it. The reporter is presenting a way of understanding the accident or an interpretation.
*From North Park University, History Department,

However, the distinctions between primary and secondary sources can be ambiguous. An individual document may be a primary source in one context and a secondary source in another. Time is a defining element. For example, a recent newspaper article is not usually a primary source; but a newspaper article from the 1860’s may be a primary source for civil war research.
*From CBB Library and IT Consortium

University Library - University at Albany, SUNY

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3/01
Last reviewed 8/2005
This page is maintained by Carol Anne Germain
Comments to cgermain@uamail.albany.edu