Primary and Secondary Resources in Research Methodology

Primary sources provide raw information and first-hand evidence. Examples include interview transcripts, statistical data, and works of art. A primary source gives you direct access to the subject of your research.

Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary from other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and academic books. A secondary source describes, interprets, or synthesizes primary sources.

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

• Make new discoveries
• Provide credible evidence for your arguments
• Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered unoriginal or unreliable.

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often synthesize a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

• Gain background information on the topic
• Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas
• Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access directly (e.g. private letters or physical documents located elsewhere)

When you conduct a literature review, you can consult secondary sources to gain a thorough overview of your topic. If you want to mention a paper or study that you find cited in a secondary source, seek out the original source and cite it directly.

Primary sources provide a first-hand account of an event or time period and are considered to be authoritative. They represent original thinking, report on discoveries or events, or they can share new information. Often these sources are created at the time the events occurred but they can also include sources that are created later. They are usually the first formal appearance of original research.

Secondary sources involve analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of primary sources. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.

Scholarly journals, although generally considered to be secondary sources, often contain articles on very specific subjects and may be the primary source of information on new developments.

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. If exploring the event, then the opinion piece would be responding to the event and therefore is considered to be a secondary source.

Primary sources

Examples of primary resources include:

• diaries, correspondence, ships' logs
• original documents e.g. birth certificates, trial transcripts
• biographies, autobiographies, manuscripts
• interviews, speeches, oral histories
• case law, legislation, regulations, constitutions
• government documents, statistical data, research reports
• a journal article reporting NEW research or findings
• creative artworks, literature
• newspaper advertisements and reportage and editorial/opinion pieces

Secondary sources

Secondary sources offer an analysis, interpretation, or a restatement of primary sources and are considered to be persuasive. They often involve generalization, synthesis, interpretation, commentary, or evaluation in an attempt to convince the reader of the creator's argument. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.

Examples of secondary sources include:

• journal articles that comment on or analyze research
• textbooks
• dictionaries and encyclopedias
• books that interpret, analyze
• political commentary
• biographies
• dissertations
• newspaper editorial/opinion pieces
• criticism of literature, artworks, or music