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What is a Primary Source
Primary Sources are:
- Immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it.
- First hand observations or contemporary accounts of the event.
- Original documents that are created or experienced concurrently (at the same time) with the event being researched.
Examples:
- Diaries, letters, speeches, interviews - what the people involved said or wrote;
- News footage by reporters who witnessed an event
- Data sets, original research,
- Creative works, photographs, video or audio that capture an event
Primary Sources by Subject
Primary Sources by Subject
| Discipline |
Primary Source Examples |
Secondary Source Examples |
| History |
- Letters
- Photographs
- Diaries
|
- History books
- Journal Articles
- Documentaries
|
| Art & Literature |
|
- Art criticism article
- Literature criticism article
- Art history textbook
|
| Communications & Journalism |
- Speeches
- Investigative Journalism
- Newspapers & magazines
|
- Journal articles on communication theories
- Book on Journalism practices
- Public speaking manual
|
| Political Science |
- Laws
- Court documents
- Public opinion surveys
|
- Article by a legal scholar
- American government textbook
- Encyclopedia of political theory
|
| Science & Social Science |
- Research studies
- Lab tests
- Mental Health surveys
|
- Reviews of other studies
- Systematic reviews
- Textbooks
|
Source: Cal State L.A.
Video: What is a Primary Source
Video: What is A Primary Source
Coulter Library, Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, NY
