Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
Information sources fall into several different categories:
Primary sources include original data, records, information, or manuscripts
(Feather & Sturges, 1997; Prytherch, 2000). Primary source material is presented
without commentary; it is not interpreted in any way. Examples include:
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speeches
poems, novels, plays, or other original literary works
photographs
posters
letters
diaries
scholarly articles that describe a research project’s methodology and
resulting data
newspaper and magazine articles that report on the occurrence of an
event, without providing additional commentary, opinion, or interpretation
Secondary sources include articles or books that provide analysis or
interpretation of primary source material (Feather & Sturges, 1997; Prytherch,
2000). Examples include:
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books
newspaper or magazine articles that provide interpretation of an event
literary criticism
journal articles in which a scholar analyzes primary source material
Tertiary sources are resources that compile or provide digests of secondary
sources (Feather & Sturges, 1997; Prytherch, 2000). Examples include:
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dictionaries
encyclopedias
directories
handbooks
manuals
statistical compendia
indexes
abstracts
bibliographies
online research databases
The table on the next page provides several examples of primary, secondary, and tertiary
sources:
Examples of Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
Primary Source
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I
Have a Dream speech
Secondary Source
A book by Carolyn CallowayThomas and John Louis
Lucaites: Martin Luther King,
Jr., and The Sermonic Power
of Public Discourse.
Tertiary Source
Biography of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. from
Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Photograph of the “Black Power
Salute” made as a human
rights protest by athletes
Tommie Smith and John Carlos
at the 1968 Summer Olympics
in Mexico City.
The article “Race, Culture, and
the Revolt of the Black
Athlete: The 1968 Olympic
Protests and Their Aftermath,”
by Bryan E Denham, published
in the June 2005 issue of
Social Forces, Vol. 83, Iss. 4;
p. 1781-3.
Article on “The Olympic
Movement” from the
Encyclopedia of AfricanAmerican Culture and
History.
The poetry collection Montage
of a Dream Deferred by
Langston Hughes.
The article “Montage of an
Otherness Deferred: Dreaming
Subjectivity in Langston
Hughes,” by David R.
Jarraway, published in the
December 1996 issue of
American Literature, Vol. 68
Issue 4, p819, 29p.
A biography of Langston
Hughes, with excerpts of
critical essays, from
Contemporary Literary
Criticism.
Famous poster of “Rosie the
Riveter.”
A book edited by M. Paul
Holsinger and Mary Anne
Schofield: Visions of War:
World War II in Popular
Literature and Culture.
Article about “Rosie the
Riveter” from the Handbook
of American Women’s
History.
A journal article about a
research study, “Gluten and
Casein Free Diets in Autism: A
Study of the Effects on Food
Choice and Nutrition,”
published by E. Cornish in the
August 2002 issue of Journal of
Human Nutrition & Dietetics,
Vol. 15 Issue 4, p261-269.
A magazine article, “Finding
Their Way: Faith and Fortitude
Lift Family of Five,” that
includes excerpts of interviews
with autism researchers.
Published by Maria Caroff in
the August 2007 issue of
Exceptional Parent, Vol. 37
Issue 8, p62-67.
An article on autism
published in the Gale
Encyclopedia of Children's
Health: Infancy through
Adolescence.
“Marriage and Divorce Rates,
1920-2006,” from the National
Center for Health Statistics,
U.S. Dept. of Health and
Human Services.
A magazine article, “The State
of Divorce: You May Be
Surprised,” published in Time,
5/28/2007, Vol. 169 Issue 22,
p16-16.
“Marriage and Divorce Rates,
1920-2006.” Data from the
National Center for Health
Statistics provided in World
Almanac & Book of Facts,
2008.
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Primary Sources Available at the Kean University Library:
Examples in the Reference Collection Include:
Reference Titles
Call Numbers
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America.
Primary Documents
Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
Classic Speeches: Words that Shook the World
Voices of Multicultural America: Notable
Speeches Delivered by African, Asian, Hispanic,
and Native Americans, 1790-1995
Ref E 184 .A1 G15 1999 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref E 185.97 .K5 A25 1991
Ref J 80 .A283 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref PN 6122.C7 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref PS 663 .M55 V64 1996 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Library Databases Providing Access to Primary Sources Include:
ARTstor
Black Thought and Culture: African Americans from Colonial Times to the Present
Latino Literature
Naxos Music Library
Naxos Music Library Jazz
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008)
Roper Center Public Opinion Archives
Social Explorer -- census data and demographic information
State Stats
Vital Statistics on American Politics
Women and Social Movements in the United States 1600-2000
The Library’s electronic databases may be used to search for articles, images, songs,
statistics, and other documents on certain topics using your key words. To access these
databases, go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu). Click Articles & More to
access the Databases. The databases are organized in two different lists. In one list the
databases are listed alphabetically, and in the other list the databases are listed by subject or
format. [Note: When you are off-campus, you will be asked to enter your Kean Library bar
code after you click on a database name. Your bar code is located on the back of your Kean
University photo ID card.]
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Examples of Primary Sources Available for Free on the Web Include:
American FactFinder
U.S. Census Bureau
http://factfinder2.census.gov/
American Memory
Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov
American Studies Hypertexts
University of Virginia
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hypertex.html
Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy
Yale Law School
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp
Making of America
Books, journals and magazines from the 19th century
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moagrp
New York Public Library: Digital Collections
Images, prints, photos, text, poetry, fiction.
http://www.nypl.org/digital
Project Gutenberg
A collection of free electronic books
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration: Online Exhibits
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits
Women in Leadership Database: Image Gallery
Rutgers University
http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/wild/images.htm
References
Feather, J., and Sturges, R.P. (1997). International encyclopedia of information and library
science. London: Routledge.
Prytherch, R. (2000). Harrod’s librarians’ glossary and reference book. Aldershot, Hants,
England: Gower.
Copyright © 2012, Kean University Library
Compiled by Linda Cifelli. Updated October 23, 2012.
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