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How to Identify Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources: Cycle of Information

Definitions

Primary

  • Sources that contain raw, original, unevaluated information

Secondary

  • Sources that digest, analyze, evaluate and interpret the information contained within primary sources

Tertiary

  • Sources that compile, analyze, and digest secondary sources

Example: Literary Critic Studying Literature of the Civil 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

  • The Language of the Civil War [Ref E468.9 .W755 2001]

Formats

Formats depend on the kind of analysis being conducted.
Primary
  • Often newspapers, weekly and monthly-produced magazines, letters, diaries
Secondary
  • Often scholarly journal articles and books
Tertiary
  • Often reference books

Example: Historian Studying the Civil War

Primary

  • Newspaper articles, weekly news magazines, monthly magazines, diaries, correspondence

Secondary

  • Articles in scholarly journals analyzing the war, possibly footnoting the primary documents; books analyzing the war

Tertiary

  • Exploring Civil War Wisconsin [Ref E537 .B37 2003]