Ask a Librarian

What are the different kinds of sources?

There are three main types of sources: primary, secondary, and tertiary

Primary sources:

• are original materials created or produced during the time under study. 

• present original thinking, report a discovery, or share new information. 

• have not been interpreted, filtered, or evaluated. 

• enable the reader to make their own interpretations about the event, without having to rely on what has already been written on the topic.

• reflects an individual viewpoint from a participant or observer. 

• Original research is created using primary resources.

• Examples: Studies, Survey Results, Statistics, Speeches, Interviews, Letters, Official Records of Organizations or Government Agencies, and Photographs.

Secondary sources

• analyze, evaluate, and interpret one or more primary sources. 
• rely on other secondary sources for information.
• are accounts written after the event with the benefit of hindsight and often draw a conclusion.
• Examples: Journal Articles that Interpret or Review other Works, Book Reviews, Books (not: Fiction or Autobiographies), Newspaper Articles (not first hand accounts), Magazine Articles, Criticisms, and Histories.
• Keep in mind
  • Journal articles that interpret or review a topic or event are secondary sources.
  • If a journal article contains experimental research or data sets, the article would be considered a primary source.
  • Newspaper or Magazine articles can also be primary or secondary sources. 

Tertiary sources

• typically provides an overview on a specific topic and may contain both primary and secondary sources.

• usually contain a collection of secondary and primary sources that are presented as factual information with basic terminology.

• Compile general common knowledge into one source, while providing key terms, phrases, and/or additional key (seminal) sources.

• are not usually credited to one author.

• The information is not analyzed or interpreted. 

•  are generally not acceptable for academic research, but are a great place to learn about your topic and get information.

• Examples: encyclopedias, text books, Wikipedia, and book reviews.

  • If the newspaper article describes a persons first hand account of an event, the article would be considered primary. 

  • If the writer of the article includes additional background information on the topic and interprets an event, then the article is a secondary source.