What is an example of a primary source in history?
Some examples of primary
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.
Examples of secondary sources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, books, and journal articles.
Examples of primary sources include diaries, personal journals, government records, court records, property records, newspaper articles, military reports, military rosters, and many other things. In contrast, a secondary source is the typical history book which may discuss a person, event or other historical topic.
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.
- Diaries, letters, memoirs, autobiographies.
- Interviews, speeches, oral histories, personal narratives.
- Scientific data and reports.
- Scholarly journal articles (depends on discipline)
- Statistical and survey data.
- Works of art, photographs, music, or literature.
- Archeological artifacts.
There are many kinds of primary sources including texts (letters, diaries, government reports, newspaper accounts, novels, autobiographies), images (photographs, paintings, advertisements, posters), artifacts (buildings, clothing, sculpture, coins) and audio/visual (songs, oral history interviews, films).
- Journal articles that comment on or analyze research.
- Textbooks that interpret or analyze primary sources.
- Dictionaries and encyclopedias.
- Political commentary.
- Biographies.
- dissertations.
- Newspaper editorial.
- Criticism and commentaries of literature, art works or music.
- Books and book chapters.
- Journal and newspaper articles.
- Reports, theses and grey literature.
- Web sources.
- Conference papers.
- Images, tables and figures.
- Music and audiovisual resources.
- Data sets and standards.
Primary sources can be described as those sources that are closest to the origin of the information. They contain raw information and thus, must be interpreted by researchers. Secondary sources are closely related to primary sources and often interpret them.
Why are primary sources important in history?
By using primary sources, students learn to recognize how a point of view and a bias affect evidence, what contradictions and other limitations exist within a given source, and to what extent sources are reliable.
How do Primary and Secondary Sources differ? While primary sources are the original records created by firsthand witnesses of an event, secondary sources are documents, texts, images, and objects about an event created by someone who typically referenced the primary sources for their information.

A primary source is an original object or document - the raw material or first-hand information, source material that is closest to what is being studied.
Primary sources can be a document, letter, eye-witness account, diary, article, book, recording, statistical data, manuscript, or art object.
letters, diaries, official gov. documents, newspapers, drawings, photographs, memoirs.
What is a Primary Source? Primary sources are the voices of the past. They are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience.
For example, diaries, artwork, poems, letters, journals, treaties, and speeches are all primary sources. Secondary sources are interpretations of primary sources. For example, they can be articles, television documentaries, conferences, biographies, essays, and critiques of a piece of art.
Newspapers - Primary or Secondary? Newspaper articles can be either primary or secondary sources. A newspaper article that documents an eyewitness account of an event would be a primary source. Alternatively, a newspaper article may be research-based, which makes it a secondary source.
For the arts, history, and humanities, original primary source documents usually are housed in museums, archives, restricted library collections, and government offices. Reproductions of primary source documents often can be found in online digital collections, microform collections, books, and other secondary works.
For example, in Biblical studies some might call the Bible a primary source. It is, in that it is the witness to the events and leaves out interpretation/commentary.
What are 4 primary sources in history?
Some examples of primary sources are autobiographies and memoirs, letters and correspondence, original documents such as vital records, photographs and recordings, records of an organization, newspaper or magazine articles, journals and diaries, speeches, and artifacts.
Some types of primary sources include: ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS (excerpts or translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, oral histories, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official record, newspaper ads/stories.
- Books.
- Scholarly Articles.
- Dissertations.
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.
Getting Started. It is easy to find information about 9/11 in every format. There are primary sources such as: reports, documents, photographs, and videos, and oral reports. There are secondary sources such as encyclopedias, films, books,essays, and journal articles.
- Books.
- Encyclopedias.
- Magazines.
- Databases.
- Newspapers.
- Library Catalog.
- Internet.
This guide will introduce students to three types of resources or sources of information: primary, secondary, and tertiary.
- censuses and government departments like housing, social security, electoral statistics, tax records.
- internet searches and libraries.
- GPS and remote sensing.
- km progress reports.
- journals, newspapers and magazines.
A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context. If you are directly analyzing some aspect of the movie itself – for example, the cinematography, narrative techniques, or social context – the movie is a primary source.
Primary sources are NOT...
Books written after a historical event by someone who was not involved in the event. An interview with someone who has an opinion or is knowledgeable about a historical event, even if that person is an expert or a historian on the event.
How can one determine if the source is primary or secondary?
To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself: Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you're studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?
Secondary sources can be found in books, journals, or Internet resources. When we talk about secondary sources, most of the time we are referring to the published scholarship on a subject, rather than supplementary material like bibliographies, encyclopedias, handbooks, and so forth.
Primary Sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. Primary sources can include: Texts of laws and other original documents. Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did.
Expert Answer
The statement that is true is: “Typically, a primary source is created during an event." This is because primary sources are original sources that provide direct evidence of an event or time period.
- Look at the physical nature of your source. ...
- Think about the purpose of the source. ...
- How does the author try to get the message across? ...
- What do you know about the author? ...
- Who constituted the intended audience? ...
- What can a careful reading of the text (even if it is an object) tell you?
Primary sources are documents, web pages, videos, etc., created by people or organizations directly involved in an issue or event. Primary sources are information before it has been analyzed by scholars, students, and others.
Primary sources can also be places and people. They are resources that speak directly to the viewer, the reader, and the listener without explanatory context. They evoke a sense of time and place.
Primary sources are materials from the time of the person or event being researched. Letters, diaries, artifacts, photographs, and other types of first-hand accounts and records are all primary sources.
Examples of primary sources are letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, interviews, memoirs, documents from government agencies, photographs, audio and video recordings, research data, objects, and artifacts.
Examples of primary sources include published materials (books, magazine and journal articles, newspaper articles) written at the time, laws, memos, diary entries, autobiographies, paintings, archaeological artifacts, and speeches.
What is an example of primary source in an essay?
Common examples of primary sources include interview transcripts, photographs, novels, paintings, films, historical documents, and official statistics. Anything you directly analyze or use as first-hand evidence can be a primary source, including qualitative or quantitative data that you collected yourself.
- diaries, correspondence, ships' logs.
- original documents e.g. birth certificates, trial transcripts.
- biographies, autobiographies, manuscripts.
- interviews, speeches, oral histories.
- case law, legislation, regulations, constitutions.
- government documents, statistical data, research reports.
- Bibliographies.
- Biographical works.
- Reference books, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and atlases.
- Articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers after the event.
- Literature reviews and review articles (e.g., movie reviews, book reviews)
- History books and other popular or scholarly books.
Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles, reviews, essays, and textbooks.
Primary sources can include: Texts of laws and other original documents. Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did. Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote.
Primary source | Secondary source |
---|---|
Novel | Article analyzing the novel |
Painting | Exhibition catalog explaining the painting |
Letters and diaries written by a historical figure | Biography of the historical figure |
Essay by a philosopher | Textbook summarizing the philosopher's ideas |
- Interview Transcripts.
- Legal Documents.
- Letters.
- Original works of art.
- Photographs of the topic.
- Original Research.
- Video Footage of the topic event.
- Works of literature.
What is a Primary Source? Primary sources are the voices of the past. They are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience.
Answer and Explanation: A dictionary is almost never a primary source because it is simply a list of words and definitions.
Primary sources can be described as those sources that are closest to the origin of the information. They contain raw information and thus, must be interpreted by researchers. Secondary sources are closely related to primary sources and often interpret them.
What is primary and secondary?
The main difference between primary and secondary sources is that primary sources are the raw information or the first-hand evidence you gather in research, while secondary sources are sources that interpret or analyze the information from primary sources.
Newspapers - Primary or Secondary? Newspaper articles can be either primary or secondary sources. A newspaper article that documents an eyewitness account of an event would be a primary source. Alternatively, a newspaper article may be research-based, which makes it a secondary source.
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