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Primary vs. Secondary Sources: Home

What's the Difference?

The difference between primary and secondary sources is the degree to which the author is removed from the event being described. For example, is the author reporting events first hand (or is first to record these immediately following an event), or is the author writing about the experiences and opinions of others or second hand.

 

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES 

  Primary Source

Secondary Sources

  Novel, poem

Literary criticism

  Diary, autobiography

Biography

  Letters, historical documents, oral testimony

Historical Commentary

  Newspaper report

Editorial

  Raw data from questionnaires

Social Science Article

  Observation/experiment

Scientific article

  Television show/film

Review

  Interview

Case study

Types of Sources

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