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PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES
IN HISTORY
Historians use different types of resources to support and/or draw conclusions.
Historians look at both artifacts and primary sources.
Artifact vs. Primary Source
PRIMARY SOURCESPrimary sources are the raw materials of history- original documents and objects which were created at the time under study.
These are created by a person with firsthand experience, like an eye witness to the event.
By using these to study history, you can analyze and draw conclusions on the event in history. You can often imagine yourself in that time when seeing something like a photograph.
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN LOOKING AT A PRIMARY SOURCE Is there a title?
Is there a caption?
What is the subject?
What are the actions?
What are the objects and do they symbolize something?
Who is the audience?
Is there anything labeled?
What background knowledge do you have?
EXAMPLES OF SOME PRIMARY SOURCES Journals
Diaries
Government documents
Newspaper and magazine articles
Letters
Birth Certificates
Photographs
Political cartoons
Maps
Graphs
SOME MORE…
Diary of Anne FrankThe Constitution of the USAPlato’s RepublicMemoirs
SECONDARY SOURCES
Secondary sources are documents written after an event has occurred, providing secondhand accounts of that event, person, or topic.
They offer different perspectives, analysis, and conclusions of those accounts.
EXAMPLES Textbooks
Scholarly articles
Historical Fiction
Encyclopedias
Almanacs
Non fiction books
Magazine Articles (purpose)
Newspaper Articles (purpose)
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF SOMETHING IS A SECONDARY SOURCE? Look at authors
How do the authors know what they know?Do their knowledge come from personal experience or having read about andanalyzed an event?Does the author cite several different (published) reports?
Look at the contentWhy is the information being provided or the article written?Are there references to other writings on these topics?Is the author interpreting previous events?Does the information come from personal experience or others’ accounts?
Look at the currency/ timeliness Look at the date. Is it close to the event?
