Knowledge of primary and secondary sources
An Introduction to
Primary and Secondary Sources
What are primary sources?
Original records from the past recorded by people who were:
Involved in the event
Witnessed the event, OR Knew the persons involved in the event
They can also be objects (artifacts) or visual evidence.
They give you an idea about what people alive at the time saw or thought about the event.
Also.. primary sources
Reflects only one point of view and may contain a persons bias (prejudice) toward an event.
Examples of primary sources:
Books, magazines, newspapers
Printed Publications
Diaries, journals, records
Examples of primary sources:
Visual Materials
Paintings, drawings, sculpture
photographs, film, maps
Why Use Primary Sources?
To explain how major events are related to each other in time.
To think critically and distinguish between fact and opinion.
To recognize point of view in print and visual materials.
What are secondary sources?
Secondary sources are made at a later time.
Although they can be useful and reliable, they cannot reflect what people who lived at the time thought or felt about the event.
But they can represent a more fair account of the event because they can include more than one point of view, or may include information that was unavailable at the time of the event.
Examples of secondary sources:
Textbooks, biographies, histories, newspaper report by someone who was not present
Charts, graphs, or images created AFTER the time period.
Why Use Secondary Sources?
To get expert opinions in order to evaluate what really happened.
To gain insight by examining the same event from different perspectives.
To form your own opinion.
To save time by reading information collected from a number of different sources.
Ask these questions about every source
No MATTER WHAT!
Who wrote this?
What does it say?
When was it written?
Where was it written?
Why was it written?
Wrap Up
It is important to determine the type of information you are looking at.
Primary sources are original sources of information
Secondary sources summarize, analyze, or critique primary sources
Both primary and secondary sources can be good sources of information, but you need to critically evaluate them
