1. Historians check the evidence in primary sources and compare it to sources that have already been determined to be “trustworthy”. 2. Then, they look at secondary sources that express different points of view to get a clear idea of what happened.

If the sources all agree about an event, historians can consider the event proven. When two sources disagree on a particular point, the historian will prefer the source with most “authority”—that is the source created by the expert or by the eyewitness.

Answer: The account is based on proven facts and good reasoning. Explanation: Historical truth is often tainted by the perceptions and biases of the writer which is why Historical truths are so hard to come by. For this reason historians rather focus of Historical validity.

Accounts of the past are derived from historical evidence. Historical evidence can take a variety of forms. Among the most important types of historical evidence are primary sources. Primary sources consist of original documents, artifacts, or other pieces of information that were created at the time under study.

History: Primary & Secondary Sources Primary sources may include diaries, letters, interviews, oral histories, photographs, newspaper articles, government documents, poems, novels, plays, and music. The collection and analysis of primary sources is central to historical research.

There are two main types of sources of history- primary and secondary sources.

This guide will introduce students to three types of resources or sources of information: primary, secondary, and tertiary.

Types of Sources

• Scholarly publications (Journals) A scholarly publication contains articles written by experts in a particular field.
• Popular sources (News and Magazines)
• Professional/Trade sources.
• Books / Book Chapters.
• Conference proceedings.
• Government Documents.
• Theses & Dissertations.

Materials used to study history can be classified into three types: primary, secondary and tertiary sources. Print sources, such as books or journals, are commonly used sources, but a source could also be recorded music or video, Internet sites or physical objects.

Examples of Primary Sources

• archives and manuscript material.
• photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, films.
• journals, letters and diaries.
• speeches.
• scrapbooks.
• published books, newspapers and magazine clippings published at the time.
• government publications.
• oral histories.

Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources, which cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources. Generally, accounts written after the fact with the benefit (and possible distortions) of hindsight are secondary. A secondary source may also be a primary source depending on how it is used.

Secondary sources describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. A secondary source is generally one or more steps removed from the event or time period and are written or produced after the fact with the benefit of hindsight.

If exploring how an event affected people at a certain time, this type of source would be considered a primary source. If exploring the event, then the opinion piece would be responding to the event and therefore is considered to be a secondary source.

A primary source gives you direct access to the subject of your research. Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary from other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and academic books. A secondary source describes, interprets, or synthesizes primary sources.

To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

1. Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?
2. Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?

For a historical research project, secondary sources are generally scholarly books and articles. A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may contain pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources.

Primary sources can be described as those sources that are closest to the origin of the information. Secondary sources often use generalizations, analysis, interpretation, and synthesis of primary sources. Examples of secondary sources include textbooks, articles, and reference books.

Primary sources are the original documents of an event or discovery such as results of research, experiments or surveys, interviews, letters, diaries, legal documents, and scientific journal articles.

In contrast, a secondary source of information is one that was created later by someone who did not experience first-hand or participate in the events or conditions you’re researching. For the purposes of a historical research project, secondary sources are generally scholarly books and articles.

Is an interview a primary source? The answer to this is not straightforward, but in general, the answer is: yes. When you conducted the interview yourself and included it as supporting evidence in your research paper, then the interview is definitely a primary source.

Examples of a secondary source are: Publications such as textbooks, magazine articles, book reviews, commentaries, encyclopedias, almanacs.

Examples of Tertiary Sources: Dictionaries/encyclopedias (may also be secondary), almanacs, fact books, Wikipedia, bibliographies (may also be secondary), directories, guidebooks, manuals, handbooks, and textbooks (may be secondary), indexing and abstracting sources.

Name the original work in-text and add (as cited in…) the reference to the secondary source you have seen. Only the secondary source should be listed in the reference list. Whenever possible, you should always aim to access the original sources.

For example, government census data is secondary data—the government collects information about citizens’ household size, ages, and incomes for its own purposes.

Data from an experiment is a primary source. For example, articles and books in which authors interpret data from another research team’s experiment or archival footage of an event are usually considered secondary sources. Tertiary sources are one further step removed from that.

Primary sources include: Original research – results of experiments, interviews, questionnaires, studies, surveys, archaeological digs. Personal works – diaries, identification papers, journals, letters, memoirs and autobiographies (not biographies), speeches, theses (reporting original research)

Examples of primary sources: Theses, dissertations, scholarly journal articles (research based), some government reports, symposia and conference proceedings, original artwork, poems, photographs, speeches, letters, memos, personal narratives, diaries, interviews, autobiographies, and correspondence.

There are a number of different survey techniques that can be used to collect primary data, such as interviews (e.g., face-to-face, telephone, e-mail, fax) or self-administered questionnaires. When polls, censuses, and other direct data collection are undertaken, these all constitute primary data sources.

In the fields commonly considered sciences, a primary source is the first report of research, published as a journal article, a research report or conference proceeding, or if extensive, a book or book chapter. They include methodology, data and results, and discussion.

Primary sources are original materials, regardless of format. Letters, diaries, minutes, photographs, artifacts, interviews, and sound or video recordings are examples of primary sources created as a time or event is occurring.