Primary SourcesA primary source is a piece of information about a historical event or period in which the creator of the source was an actual participant in or a contemporary (living at the same time) of a historical moment. The purpose of primary sources is to capture the words, the thoughts and the intentions of the past.
However, be careful because primary sources can include bias and misinformation. Bias does not mean the source is a "bad" source. Just like today, people from the past have varying perspectives. Different historians may reach different conclusions based on the same primary source. (nhd.org) Examples of primary sources include: speeches, newspapers, artifacts, historical sites, songs, propaganda, and other written/tangible items created during the historical period you are studying. (nhd.org) |
Secondary SourcesA secondary source was NOT created first-hand by someone who participated in the historical era. Secondary sources are usually created by historians, based on the reading of primary sources. Secondary sources are usually written decades, if not centuries, after the event occurred by people who did not live through or participate in the event or issue. Most of your information will come from secondary sources. (nhd.org)
An example of a secondary source is the book Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson, published in 1988. This is clearly a secondary source because it was published over 100 years after the American Civil War. The primary and secondary sources McPherson used to write his book are listed in the bibliography. Another researcher might look at these same primary sources and reach a different conclusion. (nhd.org) |
all-about-primary-sources.pdf | |
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all-about-secondary-sources.pdf | |
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source-practice.pdf | |
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