What Is a Primary Source in Research?

Primary sources include documents written by participants in the events being researched.

Primary sources are documents that provide accounts from the actual participants or witnesses of an event or artifacts that document a bygone era. Primary sources can exist in any medium; the source's content solely determines whether the document is a primary or secondary source.

Definition

Correspondence, journals or other written documents authored by an event's participant or witness are valid primary sources along with films, photographs and sound recordings that document the event being researched. Primary sources don't have to be contemporary of the studied event; memoirs of people involved in the actual event are also considered primary sources.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are interpretations of other source material concerning an event and may incorporate primary and other secondary sources. Examples of secondary sources include textbooks, documentaries and journal articles. A secondary source's researcher often examines many different primary sources to place a single event into a broader historical context.

Finding Primary Sources

While some primary sources represent the only existing copy, many others have been reprinted and translated when necessary. Primary source reprints may be found in reference volumes, microfilm collections and Internet archives.

References

• Yale University: Primary Sources at Yale
• Princeton University: What is a Primary Source
• University of Oregon: UO Libraries: Primary Sources
• Kennesaw Statue University: Library Research Using Primary Sources

Resources

• University of California Berkeley Library: Finding Historical Primary Sources