Week 2

• Primary, Secondary & Tertiary Sources

Primary Source
       - A primary source is an original object or document, first-hand information.
       - Primary source is material written or produced in the time period that you may be investigating.
       - Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened
          during an historical event or time period.

Primary Source include:

• Diaries                    
• Letters
• Memoirs
• Journals
• Speeches
• Manuscripts
• Interviews
• Photographs
• Audio or video recordings
• Research reports(natural or social sciences)
• Statistical Data

 Other examples of Primary Source are:

• Historical documents

• Public first-hand accounts or stories 

Secondary Source
 - A secondary source is something written   about a primary source. 
 - Secondary sources are written "after the fact"- that is at a later date.

- Usually the author of a secondary source will have studied the primary sources of an historical  period or event and will then interpret the "evidence" found in these sources.

 - You can think of secondary sources as second-hand information.

        

 - Secondary source is actually second hand information that were adapted "after" the events  occurred.
Examples of  Secondary Source

• Almanacs
• Encyclopedias
• History books
• Text books
• Biographies

Tertiary Source

- Distillation and collection of primary and secondary sources
- Includes most types of references
Examples of Tertiary Source

• Bibliographies of bibliography
• Directories of directories
• Guides to the literature

     Summary of Information Sources