Primary and Secondary Sources
Primary Sources
For certain assignments you might be asked to use primary sources. Primary sources are works created at the time of an event, or by a person who directly experienced an event.
It is the content that matters and an on-line source can still be a primary source. For example, an online copy of a newspaper from May 8, 1945, is still a primary source even though the original article has been digitized.
Primary sources can include:
- Interviews, diaries, letters, journals, speeches, autobiographies, and witness statements
- Original hand-written manuscripts
- Government documents and public records
- Art, photographs, films, maps, fiction, and music
- Newspaper and magazine clippings
- Artifacts, buildings, furniture, and clothing
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources are works that are written after the original event or experience; they provide criticism or interpretation of the event or experience.
Some examples of secondary sources are:
- Textbooks
- Biographies
- Historical films, music, and art
- Articles about people and events from the past
Primary vs Secondary Video
Digital Collections Purchased or Leased by TMU that Include Primary Sources
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Empire Online This link opens in a new window
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Medieval Travel Writing This link opens in a new window
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Slavery, abolition and social justice, 1490-2007 This link opens in a new window
A Sampling of Searches to Discover More Primary Sources in the TMU Library Catalogue
africa north history sources (Keywords search)
arabian peninsula history sources (Keywords search)
middle east pictorial works (Keywords search)
africa north interviews (Keywords search)