Secondary Source
The purpose of secondary sources is to interpret , or explain the meaning of the information in primary sources. Secondary sources help you to understand more about a person's life as well as how and why an historical event happened.
Why do historians use secondary sources?
A secondary source is a source that provides non-original or secondhand data or information. ... Historians typically use these secondary resources to get a better understanding of a topic and to find further primary and secondary sources on a topic .
Why are secondary sources important to historians?
Scholars writing about historical events, people, objects, or ideas produce secondary sources because they help explain new or different positions and ideas about primary sources . These secondary sources generally scholarly books, including textbooks, articles, encyclopedias, and anthologies.
Why are primary and secondary sources important to historians?
The historian's primary source is evidence from the past . A secondary source uses evidence from primary sources to try to figure out the past. The historian's dream is to find fresh evidence from the past and, from that evidence, to create a fresh interpretation of history.
Why is it important for historians to know who wrote a secondary source?
Secondary sources are important to historians because they are a significant part of how historians practice the craft of history .
What are some examples of secondary sources in history?
- Articles from journals.
- Articles from magazines.
- Articles from edited collections.
- Biographies.
- Book reviews.
- Documentary films.
- Essays in anthologies.
- Literary criticism.
Can a source be both primary and secondary?
Primary and secondary categories are often not fixed and depend on the study or research you are undertaking. For example, newspaper editorial/opinion pieces can be both primary and secondary. If exploring how an event affected people at a certain time, this type of source would be considered a primary source.
Why are secondary sources better than primary?
Most research uses both primary and secondary sources. They complement each other to help you build a convincing argument. Primary sources are more credible as evidence , but secondary sources show how your work relates to existing research.
What is the main distinction between primary and secondary?
Primary sources can be described as those sources that are closest to the origin of the information. ... Secondary sources often use generalizations, analysis, interpretation, and synthesis of primary sources . Examples of secondary sources include textbooks, articles, and reference books.
Is it okay to use secondary sources?
Citing a source within a source (citing a secondary source) is generally acceptable within academic writing as long as these citations are kept to a minimum. You should use a secondary source only if you are unable to find or retrieve the original source of information .
What are primary and secondary historical sources?
Examples of primary sources include diaries, personal journals, government records , court records, property records, newspaper articles, military reports, military rosters, and many other things. In contrast, a secondary source is the typical history book which may discuss a person, event or other historical topic.
Why do historians use primary sources?
Primary sources refer to documents or other items that provide first-hand, eyewitness accounts of events. ... Historians use primary sources as the raw evidence to analyze and interpret the past . They publish secondary sources – often scholarly articles or books – that explain their interpretation.
What are some problems with secondary sources?
Disadvantages of secondary sources: quality of research may be poor; not specific to researcher's needs ; possible incomplete information and not timely.
What are the 3 historical sources?
Materials used to study history can be classified into three types: primary, secondary and tertiary sources . Print sources, such as books or journals, are commonly used sources, but a source could also be recorded music or video, Internet sites or physical objects.
Which of the following is the best definition of a secondary source?
Secondary sources were created by someone who did not experience first-hand or participate in the events or conditions you're researching. For a historical research project, secondary sources are generally scholarly books and articles .
Why textbook is a secondary source?
if you were to research the development of textbooks during a specific time period, then a textbook could be used as a primary source. ... In most cases, the author of a textbook interprets prescribed theories of a topic and would , therefore, be a secondary source.
