A primary source is information in its original form. It has not been previously published, interpreted or translated. Primary sources can include:
- people (an eyewitness who gives you an account of an event)
- newspaper articles (an account of an event by a reporter on the scene)
- letters and e-mails
- diaries
- speeches
- interviews
- documents such as treaties or laws
- laboratory and field reports
- raw data that has been collected but not analyzed
- surveys
- works of art and literature
Technically, primary sources should be originals. However, in order to physically preserve such sources and make them accessible to more scholars, many are reprocessed or reproduced (typeset, digitized, filmed, etc.). Most instructors at TCC will accept these "reproductions" as primary sources. The form in which you found a primary source will be made clear through the citation in your bibliography/works cited list.
Here are two citations to the "Mayflower Compact", a primary source document that was originally written in 1620. The first citation is from a print collection of historical documents and the second is from a Web site that collects and publishes such documents. MLA's rules for citing an anthology were used for the first entry and its rules for an online "scholarly project" were used for the second.
Mayflower Compact. November 11, 1620. Documents of American History. Ed. Henry S. Commanger. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1968.
Mayflower Compact. Chronology of U.S. Historical Documents. University of Oklahoma Law Center. 28 March, 1999 <http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/mayflow.html>.
A secondary source is "once-removed," providing analysis, interpretation and/or evaluation. Secondary sources are often based on primary sources. Secondary sources include:
- most books and magazine/journal articles
- reviews (of plays, films, museum showings, etc.)
- literary criticism
- editorials
Secondary sources may also include resources that lead you to other information, such as bibliographies or periodical abstracting and indexing services.
Last updated February 6, 2008
