What is the Difference Between a Primary Source and a Secondary Source?

What makes a source either primary or secondary is not its format, age, or author, but how the source is used in a particular instance.

Primary Source

Primary sources provide firsthand evidence about an historical event, object, work of art, literary text, or person.

Primary sources can be in either a textual or non-textual format and are usually contemporary to the events etc. that are being examined.

Note that if you are using a primary source to write a paper or do an assignment, you will be looking at the source to obtain evidence to make and prove observations.

Secondary Source

Secondary sources provide analysis of events, historical periods, scientific theories, and works or bodies of art and literature.

Secondary sources are usually in a textual format and are produced after the event etc. that is being analyzed.

Note that if you are using a secondary source to write a paper or do an assignment, you will be reading and assessing another person's analysis or experiment, determining the validity of their opinion, and using their judgements, opinions, or findings to support or analyze your own thesis.

Below is a list of some examples of primary and secondary resources. Note that whether a source is used as a primary or a secondary resources is determined by the type of research your are conducting and how you use the source.