PHL101 Haddix

Learn the difference between primary and secondary sources. (Video created by Hartness Library, CCV/Vermont Tech.)
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Primary sources are uninterpreted, original, or new materials. 

Examples include:

• Original documents* (manuscript, poem, correspondence, letters)
• Speech
• Data from a study
• Autobiography
• Peer-reviewed journal article that report new findings
• Interview
• Artwork, music, play, movie

* Many primary sources are presented as books – but they are reprints of the original documents!

Secondary sources are information sources about primary sources. Secondary sources interpret, explain, describe, or draw conclusions based on works written by others. Examples include:

• Most books
• Textbook
• Dictionary, encyclopedia
• Biography
• Peer-reviewed journal article that critique others’ work
• Literature review
• Website
• Art, book, movie, or theater review