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PRIMARY, SECONDARY,
AND TERTIARY SOURCES
PRIMARY SOURCES…… Are original or creative materials from
the time period in which they were created.
Present new findings, methods, studies, works of art/performance, new knowledge.
PRIMARY SOURCESDiariesMapsFirst hand accountsAutobiographiesArtifactsMusicCorrespondenceInterviewsResearch
MTSU LIBRARY RESOURCES Books
Autobiographies, Diaries, Memoirs, First hand accounts, Plays, Poems, Novels
Microtext Databases Music Archives Artifacts Digital Collections Photographs Newspapers Journals
PRIMARY SOURCES BY DISCIPLINES Literature Biology Art Music
History Psychology Nursing Education Social Work
Novel Research study Original painting Original
composition or performance
Diary Research study Research study Research study Research study
SECONDARY SOURCES…. are written at a later time period. Review, criticize, summarize, discuss,
comment on original research or works of art/performance
Do not present new independent findings, studies, works, etc.
SECONDARY SOURCES Articles in journals that discuss, synthesize,
summarize, critique the information in primary sources.
Books that interpret, assess, evaluate ,etc. the information/findings in primary sources.
Bibliographies (also tertiary) Biographies Criticisms Histories Web sites Textbooks (also tertiary) Encyclopedias (also tertiary)
SECONDARY SOURCES BY DISCIPLINES Literature Biology
Art Music History
Psychology,Nursing,
Education,Social Work
Criticism of a novel Article that reviews or
summarizes a research study
Critique of painting Review of
performance Description of the
diary Discussion or
summary of the research study.
TERITARY SOURCES… Summarize or distill secondary and/or
primary sources. Tertiary sources may vary by discipline.
TERTIARY SOURCES Bibliographies (also secondary source) Encyclopedias (also secondary source) Dictionaries Reference books Textbooks Almanacs Directories Guidebooks Manuals Handbooks
TERTIARY SOURCES BY DISCIPINE Literature Biology Art Music
History Psychology Nursing Education Social Work
Cyclopedia of literary characters
Biology textbook Grove dictionary of art The violin: a research and
reference guide
Bibliographies in American history
Psychology textbook Physicians desk reference Bilingual Education: a
reference handbook Encyclopedia of Social Work
EXAMPLE: HISTORIAN STUDYING VIETNAM WAR Primary: Newspaper articles, weekly
news magazines, monthly magazines, diaries, correspondence, diplomatic records.
Secondary: Articles in scholarly journals analyzing the war, possibly footnoting primary documents; books analyzing the war.
Tertiary: Historical Dictionary of
Vietnam ; The Vietnam War, An Almanac UNC Wilmington | Randall Library
EXAMPLE: LITERARY CRITIC STUDYING THE LITERATURE OF THE VIETNAM WAR
Primary: Novels, poems, plays, diaries, correspondence.
Secondary: Articles in scholarly journals analyzing the literature; books analyzing the literature; formal biographies of writers of the war.
Tertiary: Writing About Vietnam; A Bibliography of the Literature of the Vietnam Conflict; Dictionary of Literary Biography
UNC Wilmington | Randall Library
EXAMPLE: PSYCHOLOGIST STUDYING THE EFFECTS OF THE VIETNAM SYNDROME
Primary: Article in a magazine that reports research and its methodology; notes taken by a clinical psychologist.
Secondary: Articles in scholarly publications synthesizing results of original research; books analyzing results of original research.
Tertiary: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology
UNC Wilmington | Randall Library
EXAMPLE: SCIENTIST STUDYING AGENT ORANGE EXPOSURE
Primary: Article in a journal reporting research and methodology.
Secondary: Articles in scholarly publications synthesizing results of original research; books doing the same.
Tertiary: Agent Orange and Vietnam: An Annotated Bibliography
UNC Wilmington | Randall Library
BEWARE……… Definition of primary, secondary, tertiary
sources will vary depending upon the subject area.
Depending upon the subject area, a source can be considered both primary and secondary…..or secondary and tertiary.
When is doubt, ask.
EXAMPLE…… A magazine article reporting on recent studies
linking the reduction of energy consumption to the compact fluorescent light bulb would be a secondary source.
A research article or study proving this would be
a primary source.
However, if you were studying how compact fluorescent light bulbs are presented in the popular media, the magazine article could be considered a primary source.
UNC Wilmington | Randall Library