Primary vs. Secondary Sources

What are primary sources?

There are two basic types of information sources: primary and secondary. Primary sources are the "horse's mouth" sources-those that come directly from the people involved. These include

    interviews or surveys that you conduct

    data that you collect

    writings by the principal subjects of your paper (such as novels, diaries, letters, etc.)

    your personal observations

What are secondary sources?

Secondary sources are other people's interpretations of the subject matter. They include

    books

    periodicals (magazines and journals)

    news reports

    online articles

    data collected by others

    encyclopedias