Primary and Secondary Sources: What i s the difference?

Primary and Secondary Sources:What is the difference? • Created by • Eva Schellenbach • University of Maryland University College

Primary & Secondary Sources Lesson Objectives: Explain what characteristics define primary and secondary sources. 2. Identify different types of primary and secondary sources.

Primary & Secondary Sources • Primary Sources ~Written or created at the time of the event ~First–hand accounts ~Direct evidence • Secondary Sources ~Provide a commentary about an event ~Interpret primary source information ~They are “removed” from the event, that is, they were not created by someone with first-hand or direct knowledge of the event

Typical Examples of Primary Sources Personal Records: Diaries, memoirs, letters, emails, autobiographies, oral histories, and photographs Creative Works: Poetry, music, art, drawings, films, literature, cartoons, and posters Government Records: Birth certificates, reports, memos, laws, financial records, legal cases, treaties, and statistics Other Records: Interviews, speeches, news articles, scientific data, newsletters, theater tickets, and maps Artifacts: Clothing, jewelry, pottery, buildings, tools, coins and furniture

Typical Examples of Secondary Sources References: Encyclopedias, textbooks, most web pages, atlases, and dictionaries Popular Media: Newspaper and magazine articles, including Web articles Literary Criticism: Commentaries about a play, book, artwork, etc. Other Print Items: Books, journal articles, biographies, essays, and dissertations

But, it depends …. Although typical, the examples we just reviewed are not fixed. HOW a source is used also determines whether it is a primary or secondary source. For example, newspaper articles may be primary or secondary sources depending on what the article is about, how close the reporter was to the actual events (did he personally witness the events?), and whether the article contains original research.

Some Questions to Ask …. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you determine if a source is primary or secondary. (By the way, these questions were copied from the University of California, Santa Cruz’s library page: http://guides.library.ucsc.edu/primarysecondary). 1. How does the author know these details (names, dates, times)? Was the author present at the event or soon on the scene? 2. Where does this information come from—personal experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports written by others? 3. 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)? As you can probably guess the answers are not always easy to find, but with practice you will get the hang of it. To help get you started, we will go through three examples together.

The Graduate Student My name is Susan and I recently finished my thesis. In it I analyzed how colonial newspapers in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia reported the events of 1776, the first full year of the American Revolution. I won an award for my thesis and a reporter from my hometown newspaper wrote a feature story about me and my research. In the article, titled, “Local Woman Wins John Hancock Writing Award,” the reporter summarized the main points of my thesis.

The Graduate Student Soon after that, I was one of three women interviewed by a middle school student. He wrote a paper about the Revolutionary War for an English class. I told him about some books that I thought would be helpful and I also recommended that he use The Declaration of Independence. He told me he would look for the books, but said he was already planning to use his textbook and information from some Web pages.

Time to Practice True or False? The newspaper articles the student used in her thesis are secondary sources. FALSE! Sometimes newspaper articles are secondary sources, but in this case they are primary sources because they are the focus of the student’s topic. 2. True or False? The news article, “Local Woman Wins John Hancock Writing Award” is a secondary source. TRUE! In this case the newspaper is a secondary source because it is a story with second-hand information.

Let’s Try Some More … 3. True or False? The student’s thesis is a primary source. FALSE! The thesis is the student’s interpretation of the newspaper articles so it is a secondary source. 4. True or False? The middle school student’s textbook is a primary source. FALSE! Information in textbooks comes from interpreting primary sources so textbooks are secondary sources.

Two More… 5. True or False? The Declaration of Independence is a primary source. TRUE! As a historical and government document it is a primary source. 6. True or False? The videotaped recordings of the interviews are primary sources. TRUE! The recordings of the interviews are primary sources.

The News Reporter I am here at Dulles Airport with family members who are waiting to welcome home their husbands and fathers, wives and mothers, and sons and daughters. These Marines are returning after serving a year-long deployment in Iraq. I just spoke to a Marine who is clearly very happy to be home. He is meeting his son for the first time and showed me the letter his wife wrote to him to tell him she was expecting a baby. He said it was his good luck charm and he carried it with him everywhere.

This gentlemen is well-known by many as the author of “The Coldest Hell: A Memoir of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.” He is here to welcome his granddaughter home. He told me he encouraged her to keep a diary of her experiences in Iraq. And this young Marine served as a combat cameraman and helped document the battalion’s push into Baghdad. Many of you will recognize her photographs that were published in Leatherneck Magazine.

And before I sign off I want to introduce you to this young man, Tim, a fourth grader at Simpson Elementary School. He is here to welcome home his father. He is carrying the national medal he won for the collection of poems he wrote while his father was deployed. In many of the poems he wrote about how much he missed his Dad.

Time to Practice True or False? The letter written by his wife and carried by the Marine as his good luck charm is a primary source. TRUE! Personal correspondence, like letters, are primary sources. 2. True or False? The book, “The Coldest Hell: A Memoir of the Battle of Chosin” is a primary source. TRUE! Memoirs are written by those with first-hand knowledge of events so they are primary sources. 3. True or False? The diary the Marine kept in Iraq in which she recorded her experiences is a secondary source. FALSE! Like memoirs, diaries are primary sources.

A Couple More Questions 4. True or False? The combat cameraman’s photographs are primary sources. TRUE! These photographs captured specific events and thus are primary sources. 5. True or False? The winning collection of poems by the fourth grader is a secondary source. FALSE! Poetry is an original creation and thus is a primary source.

The Explorer My name is Albert and I am an archeologist. You probably heard of me because my biography was a best seller last year. There is even a Wikipedia entry about me and my discoveries! However, I am not as famous as my distant cousin, Howard Carter. In 1922, Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb, which had laid undisturbed for 3,000 years! His team recovered countless items from the tomb including statues, jewelry, pottery, and sandals. The mummified body of the king was recovered and DNA tests confirmed it is the famous pharaoh.

News of the discovery excited the world and created a sort of King Tut hysteria. Buildings were named after the king and the song, “Old King Tut,” was very popular. Even today the tomb captures the public’s imagination and many films, such as National Geographic’s “King Tut’s Tomb,” have been produced. Ten years after the discovery, Carter started writing, “A Report Upon the Tomb of Tut'ankhAmun” detailing his findings and experience, but he died before completing it. A Report Upon the Tomb of Tut’ankhAmun

Time to Practice True or False? The biography and Wikipedia entries about Albert are primary sources. FALSE! These are not first-hand accounts so they are secondary sources. 2. True or False? The sandals and jewelry recovered from King Tut’s tomb are primary sources. TRUE! Artifacts such as clothing, jewelry, pottery, buildings, tools, coins, and furniture are primary sources. 3. True or False? The DNA extracted from King Tut’s mummified body is a primary source. TRUE! An individual’s DNA is unique so it is a primary source.

Three More Questions 4. True or False? The song, “Old King Tut,” is a secondary source. FALSE! Original musical scores are primary sources. 5. True or False? Films made about the discovery of the tomb are secondary sources. TRUE! Films about the discovery are secondary sources, but film with the original footage of the tomb’s opening is a primary source. 6. True or False? Carter’s incomplete work, “A Report upon the Tomb of Tut'ankhAmun,” is a secondary source. FALSE! Since Carter has first-hand knowledge of the event his work, although incomplete, is a primary source.

Good Work! Now that you have completed this lesson you should be able to: Explain the differences between primary and secondary sources and Identify different primary and secondary sources Of course you can always ask your campus librarian for help if you are not sure about a source even after analyzing it.

Primary and Secondary Sources: What i s the difference?