CAJCS Extended Essay Guide: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

Primary sources provide firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic or question under investigation. They are usually created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented. Often these sources are created at the time when the events or conditions are occurring. 

"Primary sources . . . are defined as the direct evidence of a time and place that you are studying – any material (documents, objects, etc.) that was produced by eyewitnesses to or participants in an event or historical moment under investigation. Secondary sources, in contrast, are interpretations – often generated by scholars – that are based upon the examination of multiple primary sources." (from Primary Source.org)

Tertiary sources typically provide a summary or overview of information found in primary and secondary sources. Tertiary sources provide overviews of topics by compiling and synthesizing information gathered from other resources. In other words, they are often similar to the end product you are likely to be asked to produce for your writing assignment. Tertiary sources are typically most beneficial as you start to do research to simply learn more about your topic. They will often list the primary and secondary sources used to create the summary in a reference section. These references are often better sources of information for your research than the tertiary source itself. Examples of tertiary sources include:

• Almanacs
• Bibliographies
• Biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias
• Handbooks
• Factbooks
• Guide books
• Indexes, abstracts, bibliographies used to locate primary and secondary sources
• Manuals
• Textbooks (when their purpose is to list, summarize, or repackage ideas and information)

Questions to Ask When Determining If Something Is a Tertiary Source:

• Did the author consult multiple sources to create this work?
• Is the source an abbreviated summary of multiple sources?
• Is the source a list used to locate other, more detailed information?
• Is the source similar to what you are being asked to write?

Often secondary and primary sources are relative concepts.  Typical secondary sources may be primary sources depending on the research topic.

1. Intellectual history topics.
   For example, although scholarly journal articles are usually considered secondary sources, if one's topic is the history of human rights, then journal articles on human rights will be primary sources in this instance.  Similarly, research on the thinking of a scholar will include her published journal articles as primary sources.
    
2. Historical topics.
   Magazine articles are secondary sources, but for someone researching the view of judicial punishment in the 1920s, magazines from that time period are primary sources.  Indeed, any older publication, such as those prior to the 20th century, is very often automatically considered a primary source.
    
3. Newspapers may be either primary or secondary.
   Most articles in newspapers are secondary, but reporters may be considered as witnesses to an event.  Any topic on the media coverage of an event or phenomenon would treat newspapers as a primary source.  There are so many articles and types of articles in newspapers that newspapers can often be considered either primary or secondary.

When searching for articles, it's important to know what type of source, or periodical in which the articles are published. This is beacuse each type has its own purpose, intent, audience, etc. This guide lists criteria to help you identify scholarly journals, trade journals, and magazines. It is the first step in critically evaluating your source of information. Determining what makes a journal scholarly is not a clear-cut process, but there are many indicators which can help you.

Scholarly Journal

• Reports original research or experimentation
• Articles written by an expert in the field for other experts in the field
• Articles use specialized jargon of the discipline
• Articles undergo peer review process before acceptance for publication in order to assure creative content
• Authors of articles always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies

  Examples:

  Journal of Asian Studies

  Harvard Business Review

  JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association

  A note about "peer review." Peer review insures that the research reported in a journal's article is sound and of high quality. Sometimes the term "refereed" is used instead of peer review.

Trade Journal

• Discusses practical information in industry
• Contains news, product information, advertising, and trade articles
• Contains information on current trends in technology
• Articles usually written by experts in the field for other experts in the field
• Articles use specialized jargon of the discipline
• Useful to people in the trade field and to people seeking orientation to a vocation

  Examples:

  Advertising Age

  Independent Banker

  Accounting Today

General Interest Magazines

• Provides information in a general manner to a broad audience
• Articles generally written by a member of the editorial staff or a freelance writer
• Language of articles geared to any educated audience, no subject expertise assumed
• Articles are often heavily illustrated, generally with photographs
• No peer review process
• Sources are sometimes cited, but more often there are no footnotes or bibliography

  Examples:
  

  Newsweek

  Popular Science

  Psychology Today

Popular Magazine

• Articles are short and written in simple language with little depth to the content of these articles
• The purpose is generally to entertain, not necessarily inform
• Information published in popular magazines is often second-or third-hand
• The original source of information contained in articles is obscure
• Articles are written by staff members or freelance writers

  Examples:

  People

  Rolling Stone

  Time