This presentation provides a short introduction to the differences between primary and secondary sources. This is aimed at teaching history undergraduates how to use primary sources for their historical research.

1. Primary vs. Secondary
Sources
Chella Vaidyanathan
History, Political Science, U.S. Govt. &International Docs
Librarian
University of Miami Libraries, Coral Gables, FL

2. What are Primary Sources?
Primary sources are:
 Original first hand accounts of
historical incidents
 Invaluable because they give an
exact account of a particular
historical event as and when it
occurred
 Usually written/created by an
individual who either was involved in
or witnessed the historical event

3. What are Primary Sources?
(continued)
Primary sources are:
 Examples include
letters, diaries, speeches, interviews, a
utobiographies, poems, newspaper
articles, treaties, government
documents, etc.
 Visual resources such as
photos, maps, posters, original
artwork, and pamphlets are
also primary sources

4. Examples of Primary Sources
Here are a few examples of primary
sources from the Library of Congress’
collections which have been uploaded on
the Flickr Commons

5. What are Secondary Sources?
Secondary Sources:
 Offer an interpretation or analysis of
the primary source materials
 Second hand accounts of historical
events
 Examples of secondary sources are
articles, biographies, books, textbooks,
reports on events, etc.

6. Tutorials for Learning and
Practice
Here are some tutorials for your
practice. Try these and they
will help you to better understand the
differences between primary and
secondary sources
 How to Distinguish between Primary and
Secondary Sources (UCSC) –
http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/primar
ysecondary.html
 Primary and Secondary Sources (UConn)
–
http://www.lib.uconn.edu/instruction/tut
orials/research/HTML/Basics/basic03.ht
m

7. Tutorials for Learning and
Practice (Continued)
 What are Primary Sources (Univ. of
Washington) –
http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/resea
rch101/Images/primary.swf
 What are Primary Sources (Univ. of
Arizona) –
http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/617/01/index.ht
ml
 Primary Sources Tutorial (UCI) –
http://www.lib.uci.edu/tutorial/?page=intr
oduction_to_primary_sources
 Using Primary Sources in your Research
(MSU) –
http://www2.lib.msu.edu/exhibits/primeso
urce/