1. What is the main distinction between primary source and secondary source?

Primary sources include documents that historians use as evidence in their research.
Primary sources may include diaries, personal journals, government records, court records,
property records, newspaper articles and military reports. In contrast, secondary sources
are typically histories books that discuss a person or event or other historical topic. A good
secondary source uses primary sources as evidence. The key to determining whether an
item may be considered to be a primary source is to ask how soon after the event was the
information recorded. This can be a problem with an autobiography if the author is
working several years with only the memory of what happened. Your history professor
will disallow most or all of these as primary sources.

Reference: https://eac.libguides.com/c.php?g=623210&p=4784148

2. Why is primary source important in the study of history?

Primary sources are valuable to historians because they give insight into the ways in
which historical figures understood or internalized what they experienced, their place or
significance in history, and give historians an understanding of historical figures’ opinions.
Primary sources created by institutions, such as a census or survey, can help document
basic statistics concerning an era. Primary sources are clues from the past.
Historians use primary sources to analyze and interpret the past, publishing
secondary sources that explain their interpretations. When you write a historical research
paper, you are creating a secondary source based on your own analysis of primary source
material.

References: https://library.uncw.edu/guides/finding_primary_sources

3. What is the purpose of a secondary source?

It is important to locate, read, and refer to secondary sources when writing a paper.
Secondary sources provide vital background information and help you to write
knowledgeably on your topic. Familiarising yourself with what has been written about
your topic will allow you to write more knowledgeably; it will inform you as to what others
have said so that you can avoid repeating ideas that are already out there; secondary
sources can be used to support your ideas or show an alternative view. You can create an
argument that shows all points of view by using multiple sources in a way that supports
your own argument as well as those of others who have presented arguments before you.

Secondary sources are documents that interpret, analyse, or draw conclusions from
primary sources. Secondary sources are created after the event or work took place or the
work was created. They can therefore take into consideration other events and place a
primary source in its historical context.

Reference: https://guides.library.uwa.edu.au/primary_sources/secondary
 4. At present, how do you discriminate between contradicting reports of a single
event from different sources?

When you are dealing with contradictory reports about a single event, it is important
to identify the primary and secondary sources available to you. Primary sources refer to
raw materials and original documents created or written at the time the event in question
occurred. Secondary sources on the other hand refer to documents that only retell,
analyze or interpret events that have been originally discussed from primary sources. If
there is any conflict between the primary sources and secondary sources, then it is
recommended that you use primary sources over secondary ones because they are more
reliable.

5. Why should official records of the government be made accessible to the public?

To guarantee an open society, with access to information about the work of

government departments and agencies. The Right to Information Act provides that,
subject to certain conditions, each state must adopt and implement a policy of complete
public disclosure of all its public interest transactions. The Act also guarantees citizens'
right to information about public matters. All people have the right to access official
records and documents concerning official acts, transactions or decisions. Although RTI's
act specifically provides a legal requirement for access to data, it stresses that certain
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limitations and restrictions extend to the right.