Primary and Secondary Sources

1. Primary and Secondary Sources

2. What is a primary source? What is a secondary source?

3. Primary Sources Are… • an original object or document; first-hand information. • written or produced in the time period that you may be investigating. • Enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period.   

4. Examples of Primary Sources • Newspaper/Journal Articles (written during the period) • Diaries • Interviews • Pictures • Letters • Official Documents • Court Records • Autobiographies • Plays • Oral history

5. Official Documents: Birth Certificates • Government records • Deeds • Court documents • Military records • Tax records • Census records • Artifacts

6. Primary Sources • Keep in mind that a primary source reflects only one point of view and may contain a person’s bias (prejudice) toward an event.

7. Secondary Sources Are… • written "after the fact" • 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. • Analyzed • You can think of secondary sources as second-hand information.

8. cannot reflect what people who lived at the time thought or felt about the event. • include more than one point of view, or may include information that was unavailable at the time of the event.

9. Examples of Secondary Sources • Biographies • Newspapers (written about the time period) • Journal articles • Textbooks • Charts and graphs (after)

10. Think About It • If I tell you something, I am the primary source. If you tell someone else what I told you, you are the secondary source.

11. Let’s Play a Game! • http://www.quia.com/pop/46290.html?AP_rand=1233520680 • http://www.quia.com/rr/107632.html