What Are Primary Sources Primary sources are documents

What Are Primary Sources? Primary sources are documents, images or artifacts that provide firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning an historical topic under research investigation. Autobiography of Josephine Baker and her years as an African-American dancer in France [from: Baker, Josephine. Une vie de Toutes les Couleurs. Grenoble: B. Arthaud, 1935. ]

Primary Sources Primary sources are original documents created or experienced contemporaneously (at the time) with the event being researched. Primary sources enable researchers to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period.

Examples of Primary Source Formats/Genres Laws and Treaties Photographs – Wedding portrait of Clodomiro Sepulveda and Peregrina Rosa Yorba, 1885 Hammurabi’s Code Artifacts: tools pottery, records like drawings and maps – Painting titled “Rejection Letter” by Trinh Do, 1989

Examples of Primary Sources • • Diaries • Letters • Photographs • Art • Maps Original video/film Sound recordings Interviews Newspapers Magazines Eyewitness accounts

What Are Secondary Sources? • Secondary sources are works that analyze, assess or interpret an historical event, era, or phenomenon, generally using primary sources to do so. • Secondary sources often offer a review or a critique.

Secondary sources can include books, journal articles, speeches, reviews, research reports, and more. Generally speaking, secondary sources are written well after the events that are being researched. However, if an individual writes about events that he or she experienced first hand many years after that event occurred, it is still considered a primary source.

Examples of Secondary Sources • • • History textbooks Biographies Movies/videos about a historical event Encyclopedia article Journal/magazine articles

Primary v. Secondary Example • A car accident occurs. • A witness’ description of the accident to the police is an example of a primary source. – They saw the event as it happened. • A reporter’s story in the newspaper the next day is an example of a secondary source. – Remember, they were not at the scene to witness it. They are relying on people who witnessed the accident.

In Review… • Primary Source – Created at the time of an event or very soon afterwards – Created by someone who saw or heard an event themselves (firsthand witness) – Often one-of-a-kind • or rare. • Secondary Source – Created after event – Often uses primary sources as examples. – Expresses an opinion or argument about a past event. – Much more common

The same document, or other piece of evidence, may be a primary source in one investigation and secondary in another. The search for primary sources does not, therefore, automatically include or exclude any format of research materials or type of records, documents, or publications.

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