Primary and secondary sources are both needed for your research and academic writing. Primary sources provide first-hand evidence, and secondary sources provide second-hand information from other academics.
It is best to rely on primary sources. However, credible secondary sources can also help strengthen your research work. Ideally, an academic work should have a proper balance of primary and secondary sources. Below is a copy of the famous Gettysburg Address by President Abraham Lincoln in his own handwriting, written on November 19, 1863.
This document is a primary source. The numerous commentaries on its importance and significance that exist today would be seen as secondary sources.
What are primary sources?
Primary Sources refer to first-hand accounts of a topic. These accounts should be immediate and from people who were directly connected to this topic. Primary sources are relevant in a wide range of fields. They include:
Texts of legislation
Newspaper reports published around the time of an event by reporters who witnessed it or who quoted people who did
Texts of speeches, diaries, and letters
Survey data
Photographs, audio, or video of a specific event
Primary sources give more credibility to your work. In fields such as the study of history, they help paint a picture of the event that is described and act as proof that your interpretation or account of events are accurate.
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What are secondary sources?
Secondary sources are sources that interpret information from primary sources. In short, they are one step removed from primary sources. However, they rely heavily on primary sources and typically quote heavily from them or summarize and paraphrase information from them. While they may cover the same topic as primary sources, they expand on it by providing novel analysis or interpretation.
Secondary sources include:
Books on a topic
Descriptions of works of art
Scholarly articles about a topic, especially by people not directly involved
Documentaries
Secondary sources are required for several reasons. They may help explain primary sources that are difficult to understand and may require expert interpretation. For example, plays by Shakespeare are often accompanied by copious explanatory notes to help explain language that modern readers won’t be able to understand.
In your research paper, focus on balancing primary sources with secondary sources. For empirical research, collecting and organizing original data is a crucial primary source that your entire interpretation and analysis will rely on. Secondary sources will help give context to your interpretation by comparing what you have to say with what other experts have to say on the topic.
Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2024, December 13). Primary vs. Secondary Sources. EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/primary-vs-secondary-sources |
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