A primary source is an original object or document created at the time under study that offers direct, firsthand information about the topic. Examples include historical documents, artworks, eyewitness accounts, published results of experiments, and statistical data. A secondary source is a work created later that interprets, comments on, or builds upon primary sources, such as journal articles, books, documentaries, or textbooks. When evaluating sources, it is important to consider an author's perspective, potential biases, and whether conclusions are based on multiple sources or a single piece of evidence.

1. Dana Chandler, University Archivist
Tuskegee University Archives
Tuskegee, Alabama
dchandler@mytu.tuskegee.edu

2. A definition of a Primary Source
http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/history/historyday/his.html

3.  No bias, no viewpoint
 Only your interpretation
 Can give additional information
 Materials
 Textures
 Printing methods
 Technologies

4.  A primary source is an original object or document
-- the raw material or first-hand information.
 Primary sources include historical and legal
documents, eye witness accounts, results of an
experiment, statistical data, pieces of creative
writing, and art objects. In the natural and social
sciences, the results of an experiment or study are
typically found in scholarly articles or papers
delivered at conferences, so those articles and
papers that present the original results are
considered primary sources.

5.  Contemporary Accounts of an event written by
the person who witnessed or experienced it.
FIRST HAND!
 Original Documents, Unpublished – not about
another document or account
 Published works - as long as they are written soon
after the fact and not as historical accounts

6. No – it can be in another form, but it can’t be
edited or interpreted in any way.
For example,
Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me
Death!” speech can be found in 100 Key
Documents in American History

7.  Diaries
 Letters
 Memoirs
 Journals
 Speeches
 Manuscripts
 Statistical Data
 Novels
 Interviews
 Photographs
 Audio or video
recordings
 Research reports
(natural or social
sciences)
 Original literary or
theatrical works
 Poems, art, music
Include:

8. Include:

9. Include:

11.  A secondary source is something written about
a primary source. Secondary sources include
comments on, interpretations of, or discussions
about the original material. You can think of
secondary sources as second-hand information.
If I tell you something, I am the primary
source. If you tell someone else what I told you,
you are the secondary source.

12.  Interpret primary sources - at least one step
removed from the event or phenomenon under
review
 Examination of studies that other researchers
have made of a subject
 Second Hand - conveys the experiences and
opinions of others

13. Yes – They provide the necessary background or
context to be able to interpret Primary
Sources
For example,
World Book 2005 or your Social Studies textbook
can provide background information about the
events leading up to Revolutionary War.

14.  Usually in the form of published works
 Journal articles
 Books
 Radio and TV documentaries
 newspapers or popular magazines
 book or movie reviews
 Biographies
 Encyclopedias
 History books
 Textbooks

15. Sometimes things are not as they seem!

16.  Ask yourself some questions:
 How does the author know these details?
 Was the author present at the event or soon on the
scene?
 Where does this information come from—personal
experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports written
by others?
 Are the author's conclusions based on a single piece
of evidence, or have many sources been taken into
account?

17. Is it possible for a Secondary Source to
be completely objective?

18. The following passage describes his National Guard
service:
In May 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, he
entered the Texas Air National Guard. He trained
in the guard for two years, where he was among
the last to learn to fly the F-102, a plane not used
in Vietnam and due to be retired.
While this could be true, why would it be important
to know that he was “among the last to learn to fly
the F-102”? Is this a commentary on President
Bush flying an outdated plane? Is it an unbiased
point of view?

19. (note that Encarta lets people edit its pages but with editor approval)
Upon completing college, [Bush] became eligible for the military draft.
To meet his service obligation, Bush enlisted in the Texas Air
National Guard in 1968. He told the admitting officer that he
wanted to become a pilot like his father, who was a highly
decorated Navy flier in World War II. He did his basic training at
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and entered a pilot-training
program at Moody Air Force Base Georgia. He received favorable
reports from his superiors, attained the rank of second lieutenant,
and was certified to fly the F-102 jet fighter during training
missions in the South and along the Gulf Coast.
Encarta doesn’t mention that President Bush being one of the last to fly
the F-102, and instead notes patriotically how President Bush wanted
to fly a jet like his father.

20. Dana Chandler, University Archivist
Tuskegee University Archives
Tuskegee, Alabama
dchandler@mytu.tuskegee.edu