PRIM

ARY A

ND SECONDARY

SOURCES

L I BR

AR

Y L

ES

SO

N

PRIMARY SOURCE

Primary means: first, firsthand, direct

So, a primary source is something written or created by someone who

experienced the event firsthand, personally or directly OR lived through the event or lived during that time period

PRIMARY SOURCE EXAMPLES

Diary

Speech

Letters

Autobiography

News footage

Official documents/records

Personal interview

OTHER EXAMPLES-PRIMARY

Relics or Artifacts

Creative works Art Music Poetry Drama

SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

Diary of Anne Frank

Declaration of Independence

Actual news footage of a Civil Rights demonstration

Photos of a Concentration Camp

Letters from a soldier to his family

Egyptian hieroglyphics

Lyrics to a Lady Ga Ga song

SECONDARY SOURCE

Derived from something original

It interprets and analyzes primary sources

In other words, it is one or more steps removed from the original source.

SECONDARY SOURCE EXAMPLES

Textbook

Magazine article

Encyclopedias

History book

WHICH IS BETTER

Well it depends…..

Primary is firsthand knowledge, so it can really be good

BUT Primary sources may not be objective; lots of personal perspective

WHICH IS BETTER (CONT’D.)

Secondary sources are less authoritative because they are interpreting other sources

BUT

Secondary sources can be More objective Combine information from many sources, possibly making it more

thorough

REVIEW

Primary - Firsthand

Secondary - Secondhand (or more)

What is your objective: Depending on what you are trying to achieve, you can decide if one or the other is better. Sometimes, both are great sources to use simultaneously.

EXAMPLE NPR BROADCAST

South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam

USS Kirk helps South Vietnamese escape in daring rescue at sea

Primary sources: Listen to interviews and tape recordings

Secondary sources: Reporters analyzing and summarizing the primary source info.

Powerful stuff! Listen closely (about 12 min)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129484369

http://public.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2010/08/20100831_atc_06.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1136&aggIds=129580052&dl=1&_kip_ipx=1191705387-1377786819

Secondary link:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/npr.php?id=129484369

WORKS CITED

These are the sources used:

"Primary and Secondary Sources." . Ithaca College Library, n.d. Web. 3 Sep 2013. <http://www.ithacalibrary.com/sp/subjects/primary>.

Shapiro, Joseph, writ. "Forgotten Ship: A Daring Rescue As Saigon Fell." National Public Radio: 31 Aug 2010. Web. 29 Aug 2013. <http://public.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2010/08/20100831_atc_06.mp3?orgId=1>.

"What is a Primary Source." . Princeton University. Web. 3 Sep 2013. <http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html>.