Source Type | Examples |
Primary A primary source is a first person account by someone who experienced, witnessed, or created an event. This original document has not been previously published or interpreted by anyone else. |
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Secondary A secondary source is one step removed from the primary original source. The author is reporting on, interpreting, or forming conclusions about the information that is conveyed in the primary source. |
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You will find both primary and secondary resources in most of our databases. Articles can come from publications that are informational, trade, or scholarly publications. Your professors will often require that you only use scholarly publications, so it's important to know the difference.
Informational: This includes newspaper articles, articles from magazines (such as Time, Business Week, or Psychology Today), blogs, and other secondary sources.
Trade: These are designed for people who work in a particular industry. They contain news about the industry written by industry insiders and are generally dedicated towards advancing the interests of that industry or field.
Scholarly: These are articles that are written by academics or researchers in accordance with the accepted scientific processes of each field. A scholarly article can be peer-reviewed, empirical, primary, or a review article, or a combination of these things.