READ

MY
LIPS
ENCYCLOPEDIA SPEECH
DIARIES MAGAZINE
JOURNAL INTERVIEW
NEWSPAPER BIOGRAPHY
HISTORY BOOKS ARCHIVE
Primary and
Secondary
Sources
Primary sources
• are original records of the political, economic, artistic,
scientific, social, and intellectual thoughts and
achievements of specific historical periods.
• Produced by the people who participated in and
witnessed the past, primary sources offer a variety of
points of view and perspectives of events, issues, people,
and places. These records can be found anywhere—in a
home, a government archive, etc.—the important thing
to remember is they were used or created by someone
with firsthand experience of an event.
• If you are researching the past, you cannot directly access
it yourself, so you need primary sources that were
produced at the time by participants or witnesses (e.g.
letters, photographs).
• If you are researching something current, your primary
sources can either be qualitative or quantitative data that
you collect yourself (e.g. through interviews, surveys,
experiments) or sources produced by people directly
involved in the topic (e.g. official documents or media
texts).
EXAMPLES:
History •Letters and
diaries
•Photographs and
video footage
•Official
documents and
records
•Physical objects
EXAMPLES:
Art and •Novels and
literature poems
•Paintings and
art
installations
•Films and
performances
EXAMPLES:
Communication •Interview
and social studies transcripts
•Recordings of
speeches
•Newspapers and
magazines
•Social media
posts
EXAMPLES:
Law and •Court records
politics •Legal texts
•Government
documents
EXAMPLES:
Law and •Court records
politics •Legal texts
•Government
documents
EXAMPLES:
Sciences •Empirical
studies
•Statistical
data
Secondary sources
• are documents, texts, images, and
objects about an event created by
someone who typically referenced
the primary sources for their
information.
EXAMPLES:
•Books, articles and documentaries that synthesize
information on a topic
•Synopses and descriptions of artistic works
•Encyclopedias and textbooks that summarize information
and ideas
•Reviews and essays that evaluate or interpret something
 Biography of the
historical figure
SECONDARY
 Painting
PRIMARY
 Documentary
about the
historical event
SECONDARY
 Photographs of a
historical event
PRIMARY
 Results of an
opinion poll
PRIMARY
 Blog post
interpreting the
results of the poll
SECONDARY
 Literature review
that cites the
study
SECONDARY
 Empirical
study
PRIMARY
 a magazine review
of one of Toni
Morrison novels
SECONDARY
 Music
recordings
PRIMARY
1. I was watching the Disney channel and one of the reporters said I should see a
movie she really liked. When she talks about the movie, is she a primary or secondary
source?

2. I was watching ESPN and one of the reporters said he had heard good
reviews about a new sports movie. When he talks about the movie, what is he? 

3. I found a letter to one of my friends in the locker room after school the other day. I
know it’s private, but I want to read it! What is the letter? 

4. My friends and I found an old wedding dress in our attic. My father said it belonged
to my grandmother. What is the dress? 

5. At school we use textbooks to learn about the history of the United States. When we
use textbooks, what are we using?