What's the difference between a primary and secondary source? Hacker & Fister (2015) defines them as follows:
An original source, such as a speech, a diary, a novel, a legislative bill, a laboratory study, a field research report, or an eyewitness account. While not necessarily more reliable than a secondary source, a primary source has the advantage of being closely related to the information it conveys and as such is often considered essential for research, particularly in history. In the sciences, reports of new research written by the scientists who conducted it are considered primary sources. (p.272)
Primary sources provide first-hand or contemporary documentation of the time period, culture, events, people, and places you are researching. Whether or not a source is a primary source sometimes depends on context. Examples of primary sources include:
A source that comments on, analyzes, or otherwise relies on primary sources. An article in a newspaper that reports on a scientific discovery or a book that analyzes a writer's work is a secondary source. (p.273)
Secondary sources are works that analyze, interpret, and synthesize information from a combination of primary sources and other secondary sources. Secondary sources can sometimes also be primary sources. These can include:
Hacker, D. & Fister, B. (2018). Research and documentation in the digital age (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford.
In addition to searching library databases for primary sources, the Special and Area Studies Collections includes unique materials and digital collections. This will be further explored on the page Searching for Primary Sources.
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