Primary and secondary information

Primary

Primary information comes straight from the original source, in other words it is made up
of original documents and raw data. It can be in any format, including written, visual,
electronic or oral. It remains unchanged, for example autobiographies and diaries.

Secondary

Secondary information has been interpreted by somebody other than the originator, for
example biographies. In order to present a balanced, objective hypothesis it may
sometimes be necessary to use a range of sources.
Sources for law students. The sources used when finding information in law can be
different. Please contact your law librarian for more information.
Which of these lists (A or B) do you think contains the correctly defined sources?

List A
Primary information:

 patent
 photograph
 artefacts
 parialmentary debates
Secondary infromation:

 editorial
 literature review
 textbook
 biography
OR List B
Primary information:

 artefacts
 journal articles
 law reports
 literature reviews
Secondary information:

 statistics
 photograph
 biography
 parialmentary paper
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Primary sources are the original documents of an event or discovery such as results of research, experiments or
surveys, interviews, letters, diaries, legal documents, and scientific journal articles. Primary sources are also records
of events as they are first described.
Some examples of primary sources are:

 diaries and letters

 academic articles reporting NEW data and findings
 works of literature (poems, novels, plays, etc.)
 works of fine art (paintings, sculpture, pottery, music etc.)
 official records from a government, judicial court, or company
 maps
 oral histories
 speeches
 autobiographies
 fictional films and documentaries
 eyewitness new reports*

*Newspaper articles that report on a recent event can be primary sources, but articles that rehash previous events
are not primary sources, unless they add new information to the story.
Secondary sources offer an analysis or a restatement of an event or discovery described in primary sources. They
interpret, explain or summarize primary sources. Some secondary sources are used to persuade the reader.
Secondary sources may be considered less objective.
Examples of secondary sources include:

 dictionaries
 encyclopedias
 textbooks
 articles and editorials that interpret or review research works**

**Many academic articles include short literature reviews to establish a starting place or a jumping off point for their
own, original research; these are still considered primary sources. However, articles that only review previously
published articles and contain no new research are secondary sources; these articles are called systematic
literature reviews and can be good sources of information about the state of research on a certain topic.