Primary sources were either created during the time period being studied or were created at a later date by a participant in the events being studied (as in the case of memoirs). They reflect the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer. Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period. The original document has not been previously published or interpreted by anyone else.
Examples: First person account of an event, speech, artwork, advertisements, handwritten manuscript, a letter, a diary, government document, e.g. Bill of Rights, newspaper article written during the time of the event.
A secondary source is a work that interprets or analyzes an historical event or phenomenon. It is generally at least one step removed from the event is often based on primary sources. Examples include: scholarly or popular books and articles, reference books, and textbooks.
Examples: Journal article, book created through the analysis of primary and/or other secondary sources, biography, magazine.
Berkeley Library. “Getting Started - Finding Historical Primary Sources.” Library Guides at UC Berkeley. Accessed April 14, 2015. http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/subject-guide/163-Finding-Historical-Primary-Sources.
Secondary: Library Catalogs: books; Questia: books & journal articles; Subscription Databases: journal articles, magazines, newspapers
Primary: Library Catalogs: books, primary source compilations; Subscription Databases: letters, diaries, pamphlets, art, magazines, newspapers; The Web (Approved Websites Only): letters, diaries, pamphlets, art, magazines, newspapers
4. Defining questions
When evaluating primary or secondary sources, the following questions might be asked to help ascertain the nature and value of material being considered:
How does the author know these details (names, dates, times)? Was the author present at the event or soon on the scene?
Where does this information come from—personal experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports written by others?
Are the author's conclusions based on a single piece of evidence, or have many sources been taken into account (e.g., diary entries, along with third-party eyewitness accounts, impressions of contemporaries, newspaper accounts)?
Ultimately, all source materials of whatever type must be assessed critically and even the most scrupulous and thorough work is viewed through the eyes of the writer/interpreter. This must be taken into account when one is attempting to arrive at the 'truth' of an event.