Linda Andrews
August 16, 2002
Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources
Primary sources are
first-hand accounts of an event, a person's life, original works of literature,
and historical facts. Are actual
records that have survived from the past. Documents--diaries, letters, drawings,
and memoirs--created by those who participated in or witnessed the events of the
past.
Secondary sources
are the books, journals, newspapers, and other published materials that you find
in libraries. They are often
written by people who were not present when the event occurred or the person
under study was alive, often written by scholars who have themselves carefully
studied primary source material and drawn their own conclusions from it.
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Primary sources may include
the following. eyewitness accounts some newspaper articles diaries personal journals autobiographies memoirs some government documents birth certificates speeches photographs letters e-mail contact wills interviews oral history minutes of meetings journals of legislative bodies constitutions, statutes, presidential proclamations |
Secondary sources may
include the following. general histories biographies encyclopedia articles dictionaries editorials textbooks journal articles some government documents popular magazine articles most research sources used by college students |
Library
Research Using Primary Sources
Reading, Writing, and
Researching for History: A Guide for College Students
You can locate many primary source documents from the National Archives and Records Administration, the Library of Congress and The Avalon Project.
A Chronology of U.S. Historical Documents
The Library does have books that contain primary documents.
Please ask the Reference Librarian for help in locating them.
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| Collin County Community College |
Linda Andrews |