Are original or creative materials from the time period in which they were created. Present new findings, methods, studies, works of art/performance,

PRIMARY, SECONDARY,

AND TERTIARY SOURCES

PRIMARY SOURCES…… Are original or creative materials from

the time period in which they were created.

Present new findings, methods, studies, works of art/performance, new knowledge.

PRIMARY SOURCESDiariesMapsFirst hand accountsAutobiographiesArtifactsMusicCorrespondenceInterviewsResearch

MTSU LIBRARY RESOURCES Books

Autobiographies, Diaries, Memoirs, First hand accounts, Plays, Poems, Novels

Microtext Databases Music Archives Artifacts Digital Collections Photographs Newspapers Journals

PRIMARY SOURCES BY DISCIPLINES Literature Biology Art Music

History Psychology Nursing Education Social Work

Novel Research study Original painting Original

composition or performance

Diary Research study Research study Research study Research study

SECONDARY SOURCES…. are written at a later time period. Review, criticize, summarize, discuss,

comment on original research or works of art/performance

Do not present new independent findings, studies, works, etc.

SECONDARY SOURCES Articles in journals that discuss, synthesize,

summarize, critique the information in primary sources.

Books that interpret, assess, evaluate ,etc. the information/findings in primary sources.

Bibliographies (also tertiary) Biographies Criticisms Histories Web sites Textbooks (also tertiary) Encyclopedias (also tertiary)

SECONDARY SOURCES BY DISCIPLINES Literature Biology

Art Music History

Psychology,Nursing,

Education,Social Work

Criticism of a novel Article that reviews or

summarizes a research study

Critique of painting Review of

performance Description of the

diary Discussion or

summary of the research study.

TERITARY SOURCES… Summarize or distill secondary and/or

primary sources. Tertiary sources may vary by discipline.

TERTIARY SOURCES Bibliographies (also secondary source) Encyclopedias (also secondary source) Dictionaries Reference books Textbooks Almanacs Directories Guidebooks Manuals Handbooks

TERTIARY SOURCES BY DISCIPINE Literature Biology Art Music

History Psychology Nursing Education Social Work

Cyclopedia of literary characters

Biology textbook Grove dictionary of art The violin: a research and

reference guide

Bibliographies in American history

Psychology textbook Physicians desk reference Bilingual Education: a

reference handbook Encyclopedia of Social Work

EXAMPLE: HISTORIAN STUDYING VIETNAM WAR Primary: Newspaper articles, weekly

news magazines, monthly magazines, diaries, correspondence, diplomatic records.

Secondary: Articles in scholarly journals analyzing the war, possibly footnoting primary documents; books analyzing the war.

Tertiary: Historical Dictionary of

Vietnam ; The Vietnam War, An Almanac UNC Wilmington |  Randall Library

EXAMPLE: LITERARY CRITIC STUDYING THE LITERATURE OF THE VIETNAM 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: Writing About Vietnam; A Bibliography of the Literature of the Vietnam Conflict; Dictionary of Literary Biography

UNC Wilmington |  Randall Library

EXAMPLE: PSYCHOLOGIST STUDYING THE EFFECTS OF THE VIETNAM SYNDROME

Primary: Article in a magazine that reports research and its methodology; notes taken by a clinical psychologist.

Secondary: Articles in scholarly publications synthesizing results of original research; books analyzing results of original research.

Tertiary: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology

UNC Wilmington |  Randall Library

EXAMPLE: SCIENTIST STUDYING AGENT ORANGE EXPOSURE

Primary: Article in a journal reporting research and methodology.

Secondary: Articles in scholarly publications synthesizing results of original research; books doing the same.

Tertiary: Agent Orange and Vietnam: An Annotated Bibliography

UNC Wilmington |  Randall Library

BEWARE……… Definition of primary, secondary, tertiary

sources will vary depending upon the subject area.

Depending upon the subject area, a source can be considered both primary and secondary…..or secondary and tertiary.

When is doubt, ask.

EXAMPLE…… A magazine article reporting on recent studies

linking the reduction of energy consumption to the compact fluorescent light bulb would be a secondary source.

A research article or study proving this would be

a primary source.

However, if you were studying how compact fluorescent light bulbs are presented in the popular media, the magazine article could be considered a primary source.

UNC Wilmington |  Randall Library