Primary Sources - original, first-hand observations or accounts of events or experiments. May include speeches, interviews, diaries, newspaper articles, photographs, video, and archival materials.
Secondary Sources - most often interpretations or analyses of primary source information
Primary resources are considered authoritative representations of a time period, event, object, person, or activity. They are most often created at the time an event or time period is occurring, though may be created later. Primary resources can be descriptive, they can report on events or discoveries, or show a first-hand account of the author’s experience. Primary resources are original pieces of research or evidence.
Some examples of Primary Resources
Secondary resources are typically created after an event has occurred or time period has passed. These resources can be scholarly or non-academic, and can be persuasive, interpretive, analytical, or evaluative in nature. Often, a secondary source attempts to evaluate or describe a primary resource from the author’s point of view.
Some examples of Secondary Resources
Some resources can be considered both primary AND secondary!