Purpose: After completing this section, you will be able to identify primary, secondary, and tertiary sources to meet research assignment requirements.
Why Are Sources Important?
Sources give your research validity. Without fact-based research, your paper is opinion. Good research is based on verified fact.
There are three levels of sources, based on how close they are to the event or topic being studied.
- Primary:
Some of your assignments require a certain number of primary sources—information from direct observation of an immediate event, or from empirical study. - Secondary:
Most sources used are likely to be secondary—analysis or interpretation of primary information. - Tertiary:
For an overview of, guide to, or compilation of sources, tertiary sources are useful.
Right at the start, see how much you can discover about sources in this matchup.
Primary Sources
A primary source is firsthand testimony, direct evidence, or an original creation about the topic you are studying.
Generally it is created at the time of the event, and it gives a witness’s or participant’s insight into the topic or event. Research that is well-founded on primary sources can solidify the authority of a thesis.
In STEM fields, it can be difficult to verify what is a primary source. Here are a few ways:
- Look at the structure. Typically, original research contains a set of sections such as Introduction, Review of Literature, Methodology, Results (charts), Conclusions, References.
- Search for a relevant word. If your assignment requires that you include primary research in the form of an experiment, search for the word “experiment” within the body of the document. If you need to base your work on primary research related to a survey, search for “survey”.
Primary sources can include peer-reviewed original research articles, news reports on current events, eyewitness accounts, diaries, manuscripts, speeches, historical and legal documents, statistical data, interviews, maps, oral histories, tools or other handmade artifacts, surveys, photographs, films, personal letters, creative writing (especially fiction), original music, poems, experiments, observations, and the like.
Secondary Sources
A secondary source is an interpretation, analysis, or restatement of primary sources.
Often it attempts to describe or explain primary sources and give perspective to those sources. It may compare, interpret, or document information on a topic, and in so doing may include photos, quotations, or other excerpts of primary sources.
Secondary sources are often articles, reviews, biographies, essays, critiques, and books that interpret, analyze, or place in context a research work or works. Most sources in a typical research paper are secondary sources.
Tertiary Sources
A tertiary source is compiled from primary and secondary sources.
Generally it *does not* include significant original work on the part of the author, and it is often an overview of, or aid to finding, primary or secondary sources. Normally, analysis and judgment are not significant parts of a tertiary source. Instead, a tertiary source provides an introduction, pointer, or gateway to a subject.
Tertiary sources include almanacs, chronologies, summaries, timelines, dictionaries and encyclopedias, directories, guidebooks, indexes, manuals, and textbooks.
Types of Sources, by Discipline
Note that there is some overlap among the three divisions here, and that primary sources in one division may be used as secondary sources in another.
STEM
In fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including medicine —
Primary sources tend to be peer-reviewed original research articles, lab data, data sets, experiments, surveys, statistics, conference reports, algorithms, code libraries, and models. Sources for medicine- or healthcare-related fields may also make use of primary and secondary sources as listed in the social sciences.
Secondary sources can be books and articles about a primary research topic, reviews, editorial articles, biographies, newsletters, documentaries, and professional news sources.
Social Sciences
In fields related to business, finance, political science, psychology, communications studies, education, sociology, and anthropology—
Primary sources include data sets, statistics, non-profit reports, recordings, speeches, government documents, legal documents, documents of record, peer-reviewed original research articles, test results, experiments, model, surveys, case studies, ethnograhies, recordings, oral histories, the evidence of experts (or in the case of journalism, the experts themselves), and case studies.
Secondary sources can be books and articles about primary sources or a social sciences topic, reviews, editorial articles, biographies, case studies, newsletters, documentaries, and professional news sources.
Humanities & History
In history and the humanities (arts, writing/literature, journalism, history, language, philosophy, religion)—
Primary sources include letters, autobiographies, manuscripts, speeches, historical and legal documents, interviews, maps, oral histories, diaries, memoirs, tools or other artifacts, recordings of events as they happen, photographs, [feature] films, personal letters, creative writing (especially fiction), original music, poems, plays, and original creative art.
Secondary sources can be biographies, reviews, books and articles about primary sources or a humanities topic, literary criticism, editorial articles, newsletters, documentaries, and professional news sources.
Telling the Difference
Subtleties of Sources
Watch the below video to explore the finer distinctions among primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. Complete with Australian accent and humor.
Try it Yourself!—Distinguishing among source types
Distinguishing between primary and secondary sources is a profound element of research. For further guidance, consult your instructor or a librarian.