Overview
Primary Sources Defined
Secondary Sources Defined
Why is it important to distinguish between Primary and Secondary Sources?
Examples - Primary Sources
Examples - Secondary Sources
How to Find

Overview

This guide describes examples of primary and secondary sources in the social sciences, especially in the fields of education and psychology. Disciplines vary when distinguishing between primary and secondary sources. Be sure to check with your instructor if you are unsure as to whether a source is a primary or secondary source for your topic.

• Primary Sources.
  Primary sources are original materials, created at the time of an event or soon thereafter.  They are usually created by those who saw an event or collected data themselves.  They are often one-of-a-kind or rare sources and present original thinking, new discoveries or new information.  Sometimes, primary sources may be reports of an event from the same time period. 
  

• Secondary Sources.
  Secondary sources describe, interpret, analyse, evaluate, explain, or comment on a primary source or event.  Secondary sources are removed from and are often written after-the-fact, with hindsight. Secondary sources are often finding tools, pointing to primary sources.
  

• Why is it important to distinguish between primary and secondary sources?
  Research gains credibility and respect when it is founded on authentic evidence, epirical data, original documents, rather than on interpretations, explanations and opinions.  Interpretations, explanations and opinions may be important in the analysis of a topic.  However, in order to trust a study, peers will usually want to see the original evidence or specific data upon which a study is based.
  

 Primary Sources - Examples

• Proceedings from conferences, meetings and symposia
• Data sets and statistics
  
• Original correspondence, including email
• Government documents (such as "No Child Left Behind")
  
• Empirical studies (research based on scientific and experimental results)
• Technical reports
• Dissertations and theses (when based on original research)
• Learning objects
  
• Autobiographies
• Diaries
• Original works of literature or treatises
  
• Interviews, surveys and fieldwork documentation
• Speeches
• Photographs
• Tests, scales
• Course materials and syllabi
• Medical charts
• Student records (i.e., report cards)
  
• News articles (sometimes secondary)
• Logos, symbols and signs
  
• Original documents and records (county records, certificates, etc.)
  

Secondary (and Tertiary) Sources - Examples

• Bibliographies
• Indexing and abstracting tools
  
• Library catalogs
• Online databases
  
• Biographies
  
• Commentaries
  
• Dictionaries and encyclopedias
  
• Journal articles (sometimes primary)
  
• Monographs (other than fiction, poetry, autobiography)
  
• Textbooks
• Works of criticism and interpretation
• Concordances
• Treatises
• Handbooks and manuals
  
• Chronologies
• Almanacs and fact books
• Directories
• Review articles and editorials
• Histories about a topic
  
• Digests and summaries
  

 How to Find

Empirical studies.  Indexing and abstracting databases are commonly used to find articles based on empirical studies.  UC Berkeley licenses the CSA platform to access PsycInfo and PsycArticles, the primary index/databases in psychology, and ERIC, a primary index/database in education.   WilsonWeb's Education Full Text is another index/database used to access education empirical studies.

Statistics.  Several government, institutional and licensed proprietary databases provide search engines to statistics.  See Statistics for a list of these databases and resources.

Government Documents.  Many government agency websites provide access to recent online government documents.  For historical documents, check with a librarian for locations of older print materials or contact a government agency to see what records they have archived.   See Government for a list of government resources.

Books and monographs.   A library catalog is the best tool to use to find books and monographs.  See Pathfinder or Melvyl for books and monographs in the UC collection.  Ask a librarian for help in finding books outside the UC system.

Images.  Online images collections are increasing and expanding via the Web.  One excellent California source is the Online Archive of California.  Libraries and museums hold large collections of images in special collections. See a UC librarian for assistance in finding special collections and museum resources.  Commercial vendors also provide images, often for a fee.

Tests and Scales.  Many tests and scales are proprietary in nature and available only through purchase due to copyright laws.  However, there are collections of tests that are no longer governed by copyright restrictions and therefore live in the public domain, freely accessible to researchers.  The  Education Psychology Library has a reference collection of books containing available tests.  Articles also may describe and append a test.  Online search engines, such as those provided by ETS and Mental Measurements, are tools for identifying tests and scales.  Ask a UC librarian for help in identifying or locating tests and scales.  See also Tests & Measurements.

Written by Jill L. Woolums, Librarian.