Primary vs Secondary Sources
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What is a Primary Source?
Primary sources are original records of specific historical periods. Primary sources are produced by people who participated in and witnessed the past.
Primary sources offer a variety of points of view and perspectives of events, issues, people, and places. Primary sources are created by someone with firsthand experience of an event.
Primary sources are original records of specific historical periods. Primary sources are produced by people who participated in and witnessed the past.
Primary sources offer a variety of points of view and perspectives of events, issues, people, and places. Primary sources are created by someone with firsthand experience of an event.
Examples of Primary Sources
Primary sources are not just documents and written records.
There are many different kinds of primary sources, including: first-person accounts, documents, physical artefacts, scientific data that has been collected but not interpreted, and face-to-face mentors with specific knowledge or expertise.
Primary sources also take a variety of formats such as:
- Audio - oral histories or memoirs, interviews, music Images—photographs, videos, film, fine art
-Objects - clothing (fashion or uniforms), tools, pottery, gravestones, inventions, weapons, memorabilia - Statistics - census data, population statistics, weather records
- Text - letters, diaries, original documents, legal agreements, treaties, maps, laws, advertisements, recipes, genealogical information, sermons/lectures
How do Primary and Secondary Sources differ?
While primary sources are the original records created by firsthand witnesses of an event, secondary sources are documents, texts, images, and objects about an event created by someone who typically referenced the primary sources for their information. Textbooks are excellent examples of secondary sources.
Why is it important for students to use Primary Sources?
1. Direct engagement with artefacts and records of the past encourages deeper content exploration, active analysis, and thoughtful response.
2. Analysis of primary sources helps students develop critical thinking skills by examining meaning, context, bias, purpose, point of view, etc.
3. Primary source analysis fosters learner-led inquiry as students construct knowledge by interacting with a variety of sources that represent different accounts of the past.
4. Students realise that history exists through interpretation that reflects the view points and biases of those doing the interpreting. Sources: National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov
Primary sources are not just documents and written records.
There are many different kinds of primary sources, including: first-person accounts, documents, physical artefacts, scientific data that has been collected but not interpreted, and face-to-face mentors with specific knowledge or expertise.
Primary sources also take a variety of formats such as:
- Audio - oral histories or memoirs, interviews, music Images—photographs, videos, film, fine art
-Objects - clothing (fashion or uniforms), tools, pottery, gravestones, inventions, weapons, memorabilia - Statistics - census data, population statistics, weather records
- Text - letters, diaries, original documents, legal agreements, treaties, maps, laws, advertisements, recipes, genealogical information, sermons/lectures
How do Primary and Secondary Sources differ?
While primary sources are the original records created by firsthand witnesses of an event, secondary sources are documents, texts, images, and objects about an event created by someone who typically referenced the primary sources for their information. Textbooks are excellent examples of secondary sources.
Why is it important for students to use Primary Sources?
1. Direct engagement with artefacts and records of the past encourages deeper content exploration, active analysis, and thoughtful response.
2. Analysis of primary sources helps students develop critical thinking skills by examining meaning, context, bias, purpose, point of view, etc.
3. Primary source analysis fosters learner-led inquiry as students construct knowledge by interacting with a variety of sources that represent different accounts of the past.
4. Students realise that history exists through interpretation that reflects the view points and biases of those doing the interpreting. Sources: National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov
References
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. (2011). Teaching primary and secondary sources. The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved from: https://www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu/~/media/GWBL/Files/Education%20pdfs/ElementaryLP_PrimarySecondarySources_Web.ashx.
Lee, C. (2013). Alligators and Academia: The Importance of Primary and Secondary Sources. APA Style Blog. Retrieved from: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2013/01/alligators-and-academia.html.
Redmon, R. (2013). Primary vs Secondary Sources. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqXHO7bTPnw
Wesson, S. (2011). What Makes a Primary Source a Primary Source?. Teaching with the Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2011/10/what-makes-a-primary-source-a-primary-source/
George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. (2011). Teaching primary and secondary sources. The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved from: https://www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu/~/media/GWBL/Files/Education%20pdfs/ElementaryLP_PrimarySecondarySources_Web.ashx.
Lee, C. (2013). Alligators and Academia: The Importance of Primary and Secondary Sources. APA Style Blog. Retrieved from: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2013/01/alligators-and-academia.html.
Redmon, R. (2013). Primary vs Secondary Sources. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqXHO7bTPnw
Wesson, S. (2011). What Makes a Primary Source a Primary Source?. Teaching with the Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2011/10/what-makes-a-primary-source-a-primary-source/
