Primary vs Secondary Sources | Examples & Definitions
Academic research involves drawing on existing knowledge from different types of sources.
Primary sources give first-hand evidence and raw data in the form of, for example, statistics, original documents (e.g., the Declaration of Independence), or speeches. Primary research is research that you conduct yourself to collect novel data.
Secondary sources offer the interpretations, summaries, or commentary of other researchers on primary source materials. Examples of secondary sources include reviews, textbooks, and journal articles.
To provide support for your argument, it is helpful to use both primary and secondary resources.
What is a primary source?
Primary sources, also known as original sources, provide first-hand evidence about the research subject you are analyzing.
When researching something historical, you can use primary sources that were produced at the time period being researched, such as diaries or letters.
When researching something that is happening now, you can conduct your own quantitative or qualitative data collection. You can also use primary source materials that others have produced, such as autobiographies or legal documents.
| Research field | Primary source |
|---|---|
| Law and politics |
|
| Communication and social studies |
|
| Sciences |
|
| Art and literature |
|
| History |
|
What is a secondary source?
Secondary sources are materials that provide commentary, analyses, or interpretations of primary source materials. There are a variety of secondary sources, such as:
- Academic books, articles, and documentaries that synthesize knowledge on a given topic
- Reviews, commentaries, and essays that offer analyses or interpretations
- Descriptions or synopses of artistic works, such as literary texts
Secondary sources are often used as support for your arguments or to offer counterarguments for you to further develop your analysis. You can also evaluate the claims of secondary sources against new evidence.
Primary and secondary source examples
Primary and secondary sources can take a range of forms. Everything from objects to ideas to numerical data can serve as a source of information for your research. Some of the most common primary sources include original or official documents and raw statistical data, while common secondary sources include journal articles and books.
| Primary source | Secondary source |
|---|---|
| Essay by a philosopher | A lecture about the philosopher’s theories |
| Government documents about new legislation | A newspaper editorial on the legislation |
| Sculpture | A museum information panel about the sculpture’s symbolism |
| Letters and diaries written by a historical figure | A documentary film about the figure |
| Novel | Essay analyzing the text |
| Results of an opinion poll | News segment discussing the implications of the poll’s results |
| Photographs of a historical event | A book about the event |
| Empirical study | Literature review that includes the study’s results |
| Music recordings | Magazine article on the evolution of the artist’s work |
Sources that can be primary or secondary
Sometimes secondary sources can also function as primary sources. For example, if your research concentrates on a particular school of thought, person, or technique, then secondary materials that derive from these sources become primary sources.
Differences between primary and secondary sources
To evaluate whether a source is primary or secondary, ask the following questions:
- Is the source produced by someone who participated in the studied event (primary) or another researcher (secondary)?
- Does the source give novel information or data (primary), or is it commenting on, interpreting, and/or analyzing information from other sources (secondary)?
- Am I examining the source itself as my main research objective (primary), or is it supplying background information (secondary)?
Primary vs secondary sources: Which is better?
Your research will usually involve both primary and secondary sources to construct and strengthen your arguments. While primary sources lend greater credibility to your claims, secondary sources enable you to position your work in relation to existing knowledge.
Uses of primary sources
Primary sources are the bedrock of novel research. Using primary sources can enable you to:
- Reveal new insights
- Back up your claims with credible evidence
- Gain authority on your topic through original contributions to knowledge
Research that doesn’t use any primary sources might be dismissed as unoriginal or untrustworthy.
Uses of secondary sources
Secondary sources enable you to put your work into conversation with existing knowledge and to give a more thorough overview of your topic. Secondary sources oftentimes engage with many primary sources and offer insights that can save you from consulting numerous primary resources on your own.
Secondary sources help you to:
- Collect background information on your topic
- Compare and contrast your arguments with those of other researchers
- Consult primary sources that are not otherwise available to you (e.g., an arts exhibition that has finished, physical documents you cannot access in person)
Literature reviews and meta analyses are generally dedicated to secondary sources to ensure a well-developed overview of the topic. If you want to use a secondary source that you found in a different secondary source, find the original source to cite it directly.
Always include a citation any time you use a primary or secondary source to avoid plagiarism. Quillbot’s Citation Generator can streamline the process of generating and managing citations. Additionally, our online Plagiarism Checker can help ensure your writing is free of accidental plagiarism.
Examples of tertiary sources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, databases, and indexes. Tertiary sources are often used in the initial stages of research but are not generally cited in a final paper.
Frequently asked questions about primary vs secondary sources
- What are some examples of primary sources?
-
Primary sources include statistical data, speeches, transcripts, photographs or videos, original artistic or literary works, and historical documents.
If you analyze something directly, it functions as a primary source. This includes your own original quantitative or qualitative data.
- What are some examples of secondary sources?
-
Secondary sources include textbooks, journal or newspaper articles, reviews, essays, or biographies.
Secondary sources summarize, analyze, and interpret primary sources. Sources that provide an overview on a topic or give another researcher’s views are generally secondary sources.
- How can you tell if a source is primary or secondary?
-
To evaluate whether a source is a primary or secondary source, ask the following questions:
- Is the source from someone who participated in the studied event (primary) or from another researcher (secondary)?
- Am I examining the source itself (primary) as my main research objective, or is it supplying background information?
- Does the source give novel information or data (primary), or is it commenting on, interpreting, and or analyzing information from other sources (secondary)?
Some sources generally always serve as primary sources. These include artworks and literature, raw statistics, official documents and records, and personal communications such as journal entries or interviews.
Primary sources are generally considered the most credible evidence to use to support an argument because they are directly involved with the research subject. However, you should still vet these sources for reliability and accuracy.
All sources you use must be accompanied by a citation to avoid plagiarism. You can use QuillBot’s Citation Generator to automatically generate citations for all types of sources.
- Is a biography a primary source?
-
Biographies are generally secondary sources as they present information about the life of someone else. The author will likely consult primary sources to compose the biography, such as personal letters, archival records (e.g., birth registries), or diaries. In contrast, an autobiography is a primary source as it is a firsthand account of one’s own life.
However, if you are researching the ways in which a particular figure’s life has been represented, then biographies written about the person would function as primary sources.
Any time a biography or other source is used, it must be accompanied by a citation and reference entry to avoid plagiarism. You can use QuillBot’s Citation Generator to automatically generate citations for all types of sources.
- Is a newspaper article a primary or secondary source?
-
Newspaper and magazine articles can function as primary or secondary sources depending on how you use them for your research.
In a historical study, for example, you might use contemporary newspaper articles as direct evidence of the time period. In social and communication studies, you might examine the language or content of an article to glean insights into the particular phenomenon under study (e.g., through a content analysis or discourse analysis).
If you are using an article to furnish background information or facts about the topic, the article functions as a secondary source.
Any articles you use should be cited appropriately and included in your references list. You can use QuillBot’s Citation Generator to automatically generate citations for all types of sources.
