ENGL 2500H: Written, Oral, Visual and Electronic Composition

Primary

In the social sciences and humanities, primary sources of information are often called the "raw material" for historians. These include the words of witnesses of events or, as Jacques Barzun has called them, the first recorders of events. ¹

Examples of primary sources include ...

• contemporary accounts in newspapers, magazines and other publications from the period in question;
• letters, diaries, memoirs, photographs;
• government documents, and other materials. ²

Secondary

Secondary sources of information are those that describe, analyze, interpret, or review your primary source. Often, secondary sources are written years after the fact, and can thus take into consideration other events, or otherwise place a primary source in historical context.

Note: Science disciplines may define "primary" and "secondary" sources differently. For example, in the sciences, original research is considered a primary source. This Guide addresses social sciences and humanities definitions.

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1. Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff, The Modern Researcher, 4th ed. (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985), 124.

2. Description from Dr. Modupe Labode, as used in her ISU History 311 class, Spring 2000.