Research Guides: First Year Writing: Primary and Secondary

Primary Sources Vary by Discipline

Primary sources vary by discipline.

In history, primary sources are original records that provide firsthand evidence to understand a historical event or period.

In literature, primary sources are the original texts (e.g., novels, short stories, plays, etc.).

In the arts, primary sources are original works of art or music.

In the natural or social sciences, the results of an experiment or study are typically found in scholarly articles or conference papers; these articles and papers that present original results are considered primary sources.

Original Articles vs Review Articles

It can be difficult to tell the difference between original research articles and review articles. You can use this chart to help you.

You can also read the article abstract for clues. If you see phrases such as "we tested" and "in our study, we measured", it will tell you that the article is reporting on original research.

Primary Sources

In the humanities, primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs or oral histories.

Examples of primary sources include diaries, speeches, letters, memos, manuscripts, and other papers; memoirs and autobiographies; records of information collected by government agencies and organizations; published materials (books, magazine and journal articles, newspaper articles) written at the time; photographs, audio recordings, and moving pictures or video recordings; research data; and objects or artifacts.

Some examples of types and formats for primary sources include:

Books such as personal narratives, memoirs, and autobiographies, collected works, and collections of documents (these may be edited and published after the historical event or time period)
Journal and magazine articles
Newspaper articles
Government documents
Archival sources such as diaries, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts, and other papers and records of organizations
Multimedia sources such as photographs, audio recordings, and motion pictures or video recording

So, what is it?

Identifying primary & secondary sources

When looking at a resource to determine whether it is primary or secondary, words that describe the action of the author can be helpful. For example, words like these can indicate actual research carried out:

examined
predicted
experimented
tested
investigated
explored

In secondary resources, since the focus is on analyzing or discussion of a primary source, you would look for words that describe the action of the author indicating that this is an analysis or discussion, such as:

analysis
synthesis
overview
appraisal
reported on

You will need to examine the abstract and/or the article to determine if the resource is primary or secondary. While the words above can help indicate the type of resource, this is not a cut and dried process where if you see a particular word, that means the resource is always primary.

Locating a findings section in an article doesn't mean the source is either primary or secondary. Check to see whether the authors did the research themselves, or whether they analyzed research done by others.

https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/evaluating/sources

Serials

Journals, magazines, and newspapers are serial publications that are published on an ongoing basis.

Many scholarly journals in the sciences and social sciences include primary source articles where the authors report on research they have undertaken. Consequently, these papers may use the first person ("We observed…"). These articles usually follow a standard format with sections like "Methods," "Results," and "Conclusion."

In the humanities, age is an important factor in determining whether an article is a primary or secondary source. A recently-published journal or newspaper article on the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case would be read as a secondary source, because the author is interpreting an historical event. An article on the case that was published in 1955 could be read as a primary source that reveals how writers were interpreting the decision immediately after it was handed down.

Serials may also include book reviews, editorials, and review articles. Review articles summarize research on a particular topic, but they do not present any new findings; therefore, they are considered secondary sources. Their bibliographies, however, can be used to identify primary sources.

Primary, Secondary, Peer Review

Primary v. secondary sources

A question to ask yourself when trying to identify primary or secondary sources is:

Did the person writing the thing do the thing?

While this may sound odd, the best indicator that something is a primary source is if the author of the piece actually DID the work that led to the creation of the resource.

These are some other things to consider with primary and secondary sources.

Primary and secondary sources can be different publication types. Articles can be primary or secondary, just as books can be.
Primary and secondary sources are not related to peer review in any way. Peer-reviewed articles can be either primary or secondary sources.
There is no perfect database limiter for primary or secondary, either. There are no check boxes like there are with with peer review.
Primary and secondary sources don't self identify as such. Nowhere in a primary source will it say, "this is a primary source." You need to evaluate the resource to figure it out.