*** HELP FOR EVERYONE *** (Databases, HW & Research Help, Tutorials, Padua Library Catalog, Just for Fun Sites, and More...): SOURCES: Primary vs. Secondary

Dive right into searching for primary resources using the options below!!!

OR...for more help, tips, and hints, see the info in the boxes to the right. 

1. Try databases by filtering by date or document type in the Advanced Search of any database provided by Padua (or any database you access through the Public Library).
2. Give Google a shot, but be careful about checking the resulting sites. In the search box, use the word "and" & "or" to link terms and filter results. Also use terms like newspaper, newspaper article, interview, primary source, advertisement as well as the year to filter results. Here are a couple examples of what you would type in the Google search box: (1) Spanish Flu of 1918 and newspaper articles or primary sources and 1918-1920  ...OR...  (2) OJ Simpson trial and interview and 1994-1996.
3. Check out archived and historical newspapers by accessing newspaper databases from your Public Library. You can either follow the directions on the "NEWS: News & Current Events" tab above > "FINDING INFORMATION FROM NEWSPAPERS" or you can venture out on your own by using the following Public Library links. Heads Up: you will need a library card...but this is a great resource for primary sources. Once in, you can filter by date. Links to Libraries:
   1. CCPL (Cuyahoga) - Magazines, Journals & Newspapers
   2. CPL (Cleveland) - Newspaper Articles
   3. (3) Medina County Library (MDCL) - Magazines & Newspapers. 

4. Try using one of the free Primary Source websites below for historical documents.

5. Check out the additional tips & hints on this SOURCES: Primary vs. Secondary page.

PRIMARY SOURCES DEFINED/EXPLAINED  

• A primary source is a record of a person, event, or occurrence that was created by an eye-witness or participant's version of an event.  Primary sources allow researchers to gain better insight into historical figures and events.
• Primary sources provide a first-hand account of an event or time period and are considered to be authoritative. They represent original thinking, reports on discoveries or events, or they can share new information. Often these sources are created at the time the events occurred but they can also include sources that are created later. They are usually the first formal appearance of original research.

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

• artifacts, photographs, maps, scrapbooks, artwork
• diaries, letters, poetry, correspondence, ships' logs, facebook pages, blogs, emails
• original documents e.g. birth certificates, trial transcripts
• autobiographies, manuscripts
• interviews, speeches, oral histories
• case law, legislation, regulations, constitutions
• government documents, statistical data, research reports
• a journal article reporting NEW research or findings
• creative art works, literature
• newspaper advertisements and reportage and editorial/opinion pieces
• notes from lab experiments

SECONDARY SOURCES DEFINED/EXPLAINED 

• Secondary sources are created by individuals who were not direct participants in an event. For example, books on Purdue University history are secondary sources because the author analyzes, interprets, retells, or explains events for which he was not present and did not personally witness.  Secondary sources help you understand a topic and give you different views of historical people, events, and occurrences.
• Secondary sources involve analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of primary sources. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.

EXAMPLES OF SECONDARY SOURCES

• journal articles that comment on or analyze research
• textbooks
• dictionaries and encyclopedias
• books that interpret, analyze
• articles from magazines and journals
• political commentary
• biographies
• dissertations
• newspaper editorial/opinion pieces
• criticism of literature, art works or music
• biographies
• term Papers, these, dissertations
• web sites
• documentaries

IS THIS SOURCE PRIMARY OR SECONDARY???

With new modes of communication like blogs and other social media, it sometimes becomes difficult to determine if a source is primary or secondary. To assist you in determining if something can be used as a primary or secondary source in your research, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself:

• Does this source come from someone directly involved in the events I’m studying (primary) or from another researcher (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary) or does it comment upon information from other sources (secondary)?
• Am I interested in analyzing the source itself (primary) or only using it for background information (secondary)?

• Primary and secondary categories are often not fixed and depend on the study or research you are undertaking. For example, newspaper editorial/opinion pieces can be both primary and secondary. If exploring how an event affected people at a certain time, this type of source would be considered a primary source. If exploring the event, then the opinion piece would be responding to the event and therefore is considered to be a secondary source.
• Scholarly journals, although generally considered to be secondary sources, often contain articles on very specific subjects and may be the primary source of information on new developments.
• Newspapers may be either primary or secondary. Most articles in newspapers are secondary, but reporters may be considered as witnesses to an event.  Any topic on the media coverage of an event or phenomenon would treat newspapers as a primary source.  There are so many articles and types of articles in newspapers that newspapers can often be considered either primary or secondary.

• Often secondary and primary sources are relative concepts.  Typical secondary sources may be primary sources depending on the research topic. When confused, look to the "Questions To Ask Yourself When Determining If Source Is Primary Or Secondary" box.