Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Assignments may specify that you use primary and/or secondary sources. What these terms mean varies a bit from subject to subject but, in general:
Primary sources always come first. They include records, documents, original creative works, and research reports written by the people who did the research.
Secondary sources always come second. They summarize, explain, comment on, or draw conclusions from primary sources.
Here are some examples:
Subject |
Primary Source |
Secondary Source |
Media studies |
Record: Magazine circulation figures |
Article about reading habits |
Political Science |
Record: Voting statistics |
Book about elections |
History |
Document: Surrender agreement |
Essay about the end of the war |
Anthropology |
Document: Tape recording of men & women talking about their jobs |
Essay about gender roles at work |
Art |
Creative work: Original painting |
Biography of the painter |
English |
Creative work: Novel |
Review or critique of the novel |
Medicine |
*Research: Medical scientists report on drug tests |
Advertisement quoting the test results |
Psychology |
*Research: Report of an empirical study of the relationship between parenting behavior and juvenile crime |
Newspaper article about parenting that mentions the study |
Use the following guidelines to determine whether information is from a primary or secondary source.
Primary Source |
Secondary Source |
Written first |
Written second |
Published in a scholarly journal |
Found in the popular media |
Several pages long |
Usually much shorter |
Written by the people who did the research |
Written by others |
Written for other scholars or professionals |
Written for non-specialists |
Follows a scientific model: usually includes an abstract, a statement of the question under investigation, a description of the research methods, a report of the results, and a discussion of the researchers conclusions. |
No specific pattern or required elements. Primary aim is to engage the readers attention. |