LibGuides: Library Tutorials: Research Tips

Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Sources

	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary
Description	Provide firsthand accounts of events or topics by people who were there	Provide an analysis, interpretation, or summary of a primary source Can provide context for a historical event Can provide multiple perspectives on an event or topic to increase objectivity	Provide a summary and/or synthesis of primary and secondary sources on a given topic
Formats	Newspaper articles - when the reporter or person they interviewed witnessed the event Speeches, letters, and interviews Objects & artifacts Original research & data Government documents Maps Photographs, video, and/or audio of an event Can include later accounts such as autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories	Scholarly works, including journal articles not containing original research and data Textbooks Histories Biographies Editorials Literary criticisms Essays	Encyclopedias Dictionaries Almanacs Indexes Bibliographies Handbooks Databases

Primary

Secondary

Tertiary

Description

Provide firsthand accounts of events or topics by people who were there

Provide an analysis, interpretation, or summary of a primary source

Can provide context for a historical event

Can provide multiple perspectives on an event or topic to increase objectivity

Provide a summary and/or synthesis of primary and secondary sources on a given topic

Formats

Newspaper articles - when the reporter or person they interviewed witnessed the event

Speeches, letters, and interviews

Objects & artifacts

Original research & data

Government documents

Maps

Photographs, video, and/or audio of an event

Can include later accounts such as autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories

Scholarly works, including journal articles not containing original research and data

Textbooks

Histories

Biographies

Editorials

Literary criticisms

Essays

Encyclopedias

Dictionaries

Almanacs

Indexes

Bibliographies

Handbooks

Databases

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Quick Tips

When using OneSearch, if you have to go past page 5 of your search results you’re going in the wrong direction. Your results will be displayed 10 per page by default. If you’ve looked at the titles of 50 materials and haven’t found anything useful, you need to go back to your keywords or your limiters and try something new.

Don’t read your articles right away. Scholarly articles in particular are long and it would be a waste of time to read through 25 pages only to find out they weren’t useful. Here’s a hint: read the abstract and the conclusion. If these don’t match your information needs, move on to the next article.

Use Ctrl + F (Windows) or Command + F (Mac) to find keywords on a page and get to the needed information quickly.

Take advantage of Wikipedia. You should never cite Wikipedia in your bibliography because it's not a reputable source on its own. However, you can read Wikipedia articles to get a better sense of a topic and find keywords.

Want to learn more?

Crash Course on Navigating Digital Information