Primary Sources:

Primary sources provide a first-hand account of an event or time period and are considered to be
authoritative.
https://www.library.unsw.edu.au/study/information-resources/primary-and-secondary-sources
Primary source is one that was created at or extremely near the time of the historical events it
describes. It is also usually the product of either the person(s) involved in the event or an eye-
witness to the event. Primary sources can include not only handwritten documents and printed
texts but also paintings, photographs, and physical artifacts.
http://www.somegreymatter.com/resources.htm
Examples of primary sources:
Autobiographies and memoirs
Diaries, personal letters, and correspondence (include scrapbook)
Interviews, surveys, and fieldwork
Internet communications on email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups
Photographs, drawings, and posters
Works of art and literature
Books, magazine and newspaper articles and ads published at the time
Public opinion polls
Speeches and oral histories
Original documents (birth certificates, property deeds, trial transcripts)
Research data, such as census statistics
Official and unofficial records of organizations and government agencies
Artifacts of all kinds, such as tools, coins, clothing, furniture, etc.
Audio recordings, DVDs, and video recordings
Government documents (reports, bills, proclamations, hearings, etc.)
Patents
Technical reports
Scientific journal articles reporting experimental research results
https://sccollege.edu/Library/Pages/primarysources.aspx
Secondary Sources
A secondary source is any item that was created significantly after the events it describes or is
related to, or that was created by someone who was not directly involved in or an eye-witness to
the events. Secondary sources also include simple descriptions of primary sources that do not
reproduce the original ‘word-for-word’.
http://www.somegreymatter.com/resources.htm
Secondary sources offer an analysis, interpretation or a restatement of primary sources and are
considered to be persuasive. They often involve generalisation, synthesis, interpretation,
commentary or evaluation in an attempt to convince the reader of the creator's argument. They
often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.
https://www.library.unsw.edu.au/study/information-resources/primary-and-secondary-sources
Examples of secondary sources:

Bibliographies

Biographical works

Reference books, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and atlases

Articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers after the event

Literature reviews and review articles (e.g., movie reviews, book reviews)

History books and other popular or scholarly books

Works of criticism and interpretation

Commentaries and treatises

Textbooks

Indexes and abstracts

https://sccollege.edu/Library/Pages/primarysources.aspx