LibGuides: Information Sources: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary

Primary, Secondary and Tertiary

As well as defining sources as popular and scholarly, information sources can be defined as being primary, secondary or tertiary - first-hand, second-hand or third-hand. This classification are based on how close the source is to where the information comes from. This lets you know whether the author is reporting original information or is writing about the work of others.

Working on a specific area of research and engaging with different sources of information and data, you may be exposed to different and new perspectives on issues and topics. At this stage, you need to construct a resource plan, identifying relevant resources needed. You should also produce a schedule indicating when each resource will be used and note any assumptions and constraints made during the resource planning process. IB suggests that students should use both primary and secondary sources for their research. However, students generally (in most groups anyway) use secondary data as the basis of their EE, supported where appropriate by primary research. The sole use of secondary sources is permitted and will allow students access to all levels of the EE assessment criteria (IB EEG, p.146).

Primary vs Secondary Sources

Whether conducting research in the social sciences, humanities (especially history), arts, or natural sciences, the ability to distinguish between primary and secondary source material is essential.

Primary Source	Secondary Source
Primary sources are materials that are direct or first hand evidence about an event, object, person, or as close to the original source as possible.	Secondary sources describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. analyzes based on primary sources.
Example: historical and legal documents eyewitness accounts results of experiments statistical data diaries and letters pieces of creative writing audio and video recordings speeches, and art objects Interviews surveys fieldwork, and Internet communications via email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups	Example: Scholarly Journal Articles Magazines Reports Encyclopedias Handbooks Dictionaries Documentaries Newspapers Most books about a topic Please note that a book is simply a format. You can find primary and secondary sources published in book form

Primary Source

Secondary Source

Primary sources are materials that are direct or first hand evidence about an event, object, person, or as close to the original source as possible.

Secondary sources describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. analyzes based on primary sources.

Example:

historical and legal documents
eyewitness accounts
results of experiments
statistical data
diaries and letters
pieces of creative writing
audio and video recordings
speeches, and art objects
Interviews
surveys
fieldwork, and
Internet communications via email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups

Example:

Scholarly Journal Articles
Magazines
Reports
Encyclopedias
Handbooks
Dictionaries
Documentaries
Newspapers
*Most books about a topic

*Please note that a book is simply a format. You can find primary and secondary sources published in book form

Note: Often secondary and primary sources are relative concepts. Typical secondary sources may be primary sources depending on the research topic.

Intellectual history topics
For example, although scholarly journal articles are usually considered secondary sources, if one's topic is the history of human rights, then journal articles on human rights will be primary sources in this instance. Similarly, research on the thinking of a scholar will include her published journal articles as primary sources.
Historical topics
Magazine articles are secondary sources, but for someone researching the view of judicial punishment in the 1920s, magazines from that time period are primary sources. Indeed, any older publication, such as those prior to the 20th century, is very often automatically considered a primary source.
Newspapers may be either primary or secondary
Most articles in newspapers are secondary, but reporters may be considered as witnesses to an event. Any topic on the media coverage of an event or phenomenon would treat newspapers as a primary source. There are so many articles and types of articles in newspapers that they can often be considered both primary and secondary.

Tertiary Sources

Tertiary sources bring together and organize primary and secondary source material.

Examples include:

guidebooks
encyclopedias
dictionaries
indexes