When writing an academic paper, citing your sources is the most important aspect. To use sources efficiently and in the correct manner, one must identify the nature of each source and the reason for using it. This will help researchers distinguish between their contribution and the argument expressed by the sources used.

What Is a Primary Source?

A primary source is a first-hand record of an event. These are the events or evidence that were first described without any interpretation or commentary. This source gives researchers direct access to the subject of research and displays original thinking, reports on discoveries, or shares new information.

Examples of Primary Sources

Theses, dissertations, scholarly journal articles (research-based), government reports, symposia and conference proceedings, original artwork, poems, photographs, speeches, letters, memos, personal narratives, diaries, interviews, autobiographies, and correspondence.

What Is a Secondary Source?

A secondary source offers an analysis or restatement of a primary source. These provide second-hand information and commentary from based on the original sources. These majorly include peer-reviewed academic sources, such as journal articles, books, and book chapters for research.

Examples of Secondary Sources

Textbooks, edited works, books, and articles that interpret or review research works, histories, biographies, literary criticism, and interpretation, reviews of law and legislation, political analyses, and commentaries.

Deciding Between Primary and Secondary Sources

Deciding and identifying between primary and secondary sources is difficult. Researchers often experience this situation while composing research papers, assignments, or journal articles. Finding the right source is the most important factor while citing information. A researcher must know which is the best source (primary or secondary source) for their research project. Following are some points that will assist researchers in understanding and distinguishing between primary and secondary sources:

1. The primary sources include works by individuals commenting on a theory or event.
2. The secondary sources are often pieces of writing that elaborate on the source.
3. The primary sources comprise original research work initiated by scientists.
4. For secondary sources, the information obtained from the primary sources forms the baseline of the content.
5. The primary sources comprise data obtained from surveys, census, economic statistics, or other datasets that have not been recorded earlier.
6. The secondary sources also contain such data and are referenced to the original primary sources.
7. Secondary sources are mostly scholarly. A source is considered scholarly when the authors are not directly involved in gathering the original information.
8. Secondary sources could be a compilation of information from different primary sources.

Apart from understanding the difference between primary and secondary sources, a crucial aspect of sources is to determine their credibility before citing them. Researchers must do a thorough check of the sources they wish to cite in their research study. This will help them avoid the inclusion of false information in articles, research papers, journals, or writing assignments.

Source: https://www.enago.com/academy/should-you-use-primary-sources-secondary-sources-or-citation-references/

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