Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

Sources of information or evidence are often categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary material. These classifications are based on the
originality of the material and the proximity of the source or origin. This informs the reader as to whether the author is reporting information that is
first hand or is conveying the experiences and opinions of others which is considered second hand. Determining if a source is primary, secondary
or tertiary can be tricky. Below you will find a description of the three categories of information and examples to help you make a determination.

Primary Sources

These sources are records of events or evidence as they are first described or actually happened without any interpretation or commentary. It is
information that is shown for the first time or original materials on which other research is based. Primary sources display original thinking, report
on new discoveries, or share fresh information.

Examples of primary sources:

Theses, dissertations, scholarly journal articles (research based), some government reports, symposia and conference proceedings, original
artwork, poems, photographs, speeches, letters, memos, personal narratives, diaries, interviews, autobiographies, and correspondence.

Secondary Sources

These sources offer an analysis or restatement of primary sources. They often try to describe or explain primary sources. They tend to be works
which summarize, interpret, reorganize, or otherwise provide an added value to a primary source.

Examples of Secondary Sources:

Textbooks, edited works, books and articles that interpret or review research works, histories, biographies, literary criticism and interpretation,
reviews of law and legislation, political analyses and commentaries.

Tertiary Sources

These are sources that index, abstract, organize, compile, or digest other sources. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered
tertiary sources when their chief purpose is to list, summarize or simply repackage ideas or other information. Tertiary sources are usually not
credited to a particular author.

Examples of Tertiary Sources:

Dictionaries/encyclopedias (may also be secondary), almanacs, fact books, Wikipedia, bibliographies (may also be secondary), directories,
guidebooks, manuals, handbooks, and textbooks (may be secondary), indexing and abstracting sources.

Primary Sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. Primary sources can include:

 Texts of laws and other original documents.

 Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did.
 Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote.
 Original research.
 Datasets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics.
 Photographs, video, or audio that capture an event.

Secondary Sources are one step removed from primary sources, though they often quote or otherwise use primary sources. They can cover the same
topic, but add a layer of interpretation and analysis. Secondary sources can include:

 Most books about a topic.

 Analysis or interpretation of data.
 Scholarly or other articles about a topic, especially by people not directly involved.
 Documentaries (though they often include photos or video portions that can be considered primary sources).

What is OUTLINING?

An outline is a map of your essay. It shows what information each section or paragraph will contain, and in what order. Most
outlines use numbers and/or bullet points to arrange information and convey points.

Why create an outline?

Outlining is a tool we use in the writing process to help organize our ideas, visualize our paper’s potential structure, and to
further flesh out and develop points. It allows the writer to understand how he or she will connect information to support the
thesis statement and the claims of the paper. An outline provides the writer with a space to consider ideas easily without
needing to write complete paragraphs or sentences.

Creating your outline:

Before beginning an outline, it is useful to have a clear thesis statement or clear purpose or argument, as everything else in
the outline is going to work to support the thesis. Note: the outline might help inform the thesis, and therefore your thesis
might change or develop within the outlining process.

Organize your outline in whatever format fits into the structure needed for the type of paper you are writing. One common
outline format uses Roman numerals, letters, and numbers. Other outlines can use bullet points or other symbols. You can
use whatever organizational patterns work best for you and your paper, as long as you understand your own organizational
tools. Outlines can be written using complete sentences or fragments or a mix of the two.

Remember! After creating your outline, you may decide to reorganize your ideas by putting them in a different order.
Furthermore, as you are writing you might make some discoveries and can, of course, always adjust or deviate from the
outline as needed.

Sample Outlines:
As you can see in the outline below, the writer chose to separate the outline by topics, but could have utilized a different
structure, organizing the outline by separate paragraphs, indicating what each paragraph will do or say.

Example 1:

I. Introduction
A. Background information
B. Thesis
II. Reason 1
A. Use quotes from x
B. Use evidence from y
III. Reason 2
A. Counterargument
1. They might say…
2. But…
IV. Conclusion
A. Connect back to thesis
B. Answer the “so what” or “what now” question
C. End on a memorable note
Note: The sample outline above illustrates the structure of an outline, but it is quite vague. Your outline should be as specific
as possible.

Proposal Outline:

I. Summary/ Synopsis of proposed project

• Rationale
• Specific aims and objectives
• Experimental approaches to be used
• The potential significance
II. Specific Aims
•X
•Y
•Z
III. Background and Significance
• Background
• Significance to current project
• Significance to long-term research objectives
• Critical evaluations of existing knowledge
• Forward progress
IV. Preliminary Data
• Description of prelim data to justify the rationale
• Demonstrate feasibility of the project
V. Experimental Design and Methods
• Details of design and procedures
• Protocols
• Means of data analysis and interpretation
• New methodology and its advantages
• Potential technical difficulties or limitations/ alternative approaches
VI. References
• Citations

Note: Outlines can look quite different. You might use Roman numerals to indicate the main point or function of that section,
and then letters to indicate separate sub-points, and then even bullet points or numbers to indicate specific information, like
using certain quotes, sources, evidence, or examples.
Adapted From:
Los Angeles Valley College Writing Center, “How to Make an Outline” 2/2/15

Northwestern University Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences, “A Basic Proposal Outline”

San Jose State University Writing Center, “Essay Planning: Outlining with a Purpose” Spring 2014