Sunday July 20, 2008
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Primary and Secondary Sources


Research Basics:

What is a Primary Source?
A primary source of information allows the learner to access original and unedited information. A primary source requires the learner to interact with the source and extract information. Primary sources are the materials on a topic upon which subsequent interpretations or studies are based, anything from firsthand documents such as poems, diaries, court records, and interviews to research results generated by experiments, surveys, ethnographies, and so on.  Primary sources are records of events as they are first described, without any interpretation or commentary. They are also sets of data, such as census statistics, which have been tabulated, but not interpreted.

What is a Secondary Source
A secondary source offers an analysis or a restatement of primary sources. A secondary source is generally at least one step removed from the event .  It often attempts to describe or explain a primary source. Some secondary sources not only analyze primary sources, but use them to argue a contention or to persuade the reader to hold a certain opinion. Secondary sources are edited primary sources, second-hand versions. They represent someone else's thinking.

Example of Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary SourceSecondary Source
Original artworkArticle critiquing the piece of art
Slave diaryBook about the Underground Railroad
PoemTreatise on a particular genre of poetry
TreatyEssay on Native American land rights
Videotape of a performanceBiography of a playwright

Peer Review

Peer review (known as refereeing in some academic fields) is a scholarly process used in the publication of manuscripts and in the awarding of funding for research. Publishers and funding agencies use peer review to select and to screen submissions. The process also assists authors in meeting the standards of their discipline. Publications and awards that have not undergone peer review are liable to be regarded with suspicion by scholars and professionals in many fields.