Sources PRIMARY Diaries Letters Manuscripts Films Recordings Objects

Sources PRIMARY • Diaries • Letters • Manuscripts • Films • Recordings • Objects such as clothing, tools, artifacts, etc. • Personal observation, experiment, interviews SECONDARY • Books, articles that discuss or analyze primary sources

Reasons for using secondary sources: • Keep up with latest research • Find differing perspectives / opinions on your material • Analysis, often by experts or scholars, of primary information

Sources to avoid • Encyclopedias • Dictionaries • Wikipedia These can be used, however, as a starting point for your research, to find out things like “Who was…? ” or “What is…? ”

Some strengths and weaknesses of sources PRIMARY Strengths: • Can give insight into emotions • Can give insight into a thought process • Purpose is usually obvious Weaknesses: • Objectivity can be questioned • Information can be limited in scope SECONDARY Strengths: • Often a multitude of information, wide in scope • Differing perspectives give a broad picture Weaknesses: • May be outdated • Research may not be directly relevant to your research

Keep track of all sources: • Become familiar with what information you will need to include for a “Works Cited” page or bibliography • See easybib. com for help • There are other online bibliography/works cited sources; use whatever you are familiar with