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• Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Published on June 20, 2018 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on May 31, 2023.

When you do research, you have to gather information and evidence from a variety of sources.

Primary sources provide raw information and first-hand evidence. Examples include interview transcripts, statistical data, and works of art. Primary research gives you direct access to the subject of your research.

Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary from other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and academic books . Thus, secondary research describes, interprets, or synthesizes primary sources.

Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but good research uses both primary and secondary sources.

Table of contents

What is a primary source, what is a secondary source, primary and secondary source examples, how to tell if a source is primary or secondary, primary vs secondary sources: which is better, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about primary and secondary sources.

A primary source is anything that gives you direct evidence about the people, events, or phenomena that you are researching. Primary sources will usually be the main objects of your analysis.

If you are researching the past, you cannot directly access it yourself, so you need primary sources that were produced at the time by participants or witnesses (e.g. letters, photographs, newspapers ).

If you are researching something current, your primary sources can either be qualitative or quantitative data that you collect yourself (e.g. through interviews , surveys , experiments ) or sources produced by people directly involved in the topic (e.g. official documents or media texts).

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A secondary source is anything that describes, interprets, evaluates, or analyzes information from primary sources. Common examples include:

• Books , articles and documentaries that synthesize information on a topic
• Synopses and descriptions of artistic works
• Encyclopedias and textbooks that summarize information and ideas
• Reviews and essays that evaluate or interpret something

When you cite a secondary source, it’s usually not to analyze it directly. Instead, you’ll probably test its arguments against new evidence or use its ideas to help formulate your own.

Examples of sources that can be primary or secondary

A secondary source can become a primary source depending on your research question . If the person, context, or technique that produced the source is the main focus of your research, it becomes a primary source.

Documentaries

If you are researching the causes of World War II, a recent documentary about the war is a secondary source . But if you are researching the filmmaking techniques used in historical documentaries, the documentary is a primary source .

Reviews and essays

If your paper is about the novels of Toni Morrison, a magazine review of one of her novels is a secondary source . But if your paper is about the critical reception of Toni Morrison’s work, the review is a primary source .

Newspaper articles

If your aim is to analyze the government’s economic policy, a newspaper article about a new policy is a secondary source . But if your aim is to analyze media coverage of economic issues, the newspaper article is a primary source .

To determine if something can be used as a primary or secondary source in your research, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself:

• Does this source come from someone directly involved in the events I’m studying (primary) or from another researcher (secondary)?
• Am I interested in evaluating the source itself (primary) or only using it for background information (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary) or does it comment upon information from other sources (secondary)?

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Most research uses both primary and secondary sources. They complement each other to help you build a convincing argument. Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but secondary sources show how your work relates to existing research. Tertiary sources are often used in the first, exploratory stage of research.

What do you use primary sources for?

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

• Make new discoveries
• Provide credible evidence for your arguments
• Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered unoriginal or unreliable.

What do you use secondary sources for?

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often synthesize a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

• Gain background information on the topic
• Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas
• Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access directly (e.g. private letters or physical documents located elsewhere)

When you conduct a literature review or meta analysis, you can consult secondary sources to gain a thorough overview of your topic. If you want to mention a paper or study that you find cited in a secondary source, seek out the original source and cite it directly.

Remember that all primary and secondary sources must be cited to avoid plagiarism . You can use Scribbr’s free citation generator to do so!

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

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Common examples of primary sources include interview transcripts , photographs, novels, paintings, films, historical documents, and official statistics.

Anything you directly analyze or use as first-hand evidence can be a primary source, including qualitative or quantitative data that you collected yourself.

Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles , reviews, essays , and textbooks.

Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source. If a source gives you an overview of background information or presents another researcher’s ideas on your topic, it is probably a secondary source.

To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

• Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?
• Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary)?

Some types of source are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications (e.g. letters, interviews ). If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source.

Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. However, it’s up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.

Always make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism .

A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context.

If you are directly analyzing some aspect of the movie itself – for example, the cinematography, narrative techniques, or social context – the movie is a primary source.

If you use the movie for background information or analysis about your topic – for example, to learn about a historical event or a scientific discovery – the movie is a secondary source.

Whether it’s primary or secondary, always properly cite the movie in the citation style you are using. Learn how to create an MLA movie citation or an APA movie citation .

Articles in newspapers and magazines can be primary or secondary depending on the focus of your research.

In historical studies, old articles are used as primary sources that give direct evidence about the time period. In social and communication studies, articles are used as primary sources to analyze language and social relations (for example, by conducting content analysis or discourse analysis ).

If you are not analyzing the article itself, but only using it for background information or facts about your topic, then the article is a secondary source.

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Understanding and Evaluating Resources

• Evaluating Journal Articles
• Evaluating News Resources
• Evaluating Web Resources
• Primary vs. Secondary Sources
• Different Types of Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tertiary Sources

What is a primary source?

Search Primary Sources @ RWU

What is a secondary source.

What is a tertiary source?

• Encyclopedias, like Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Brittanica, etc.
• Dictionaries, like Oxford English Dictionary, Etymology Online, etc.
• Almanacs, like World Almanac, Book of Facts, etc.
• Factbooks, like CIA World Factbook
• Chronologies, like Chronicle of the 20th Century
• Some Textbooks
• Last Updated: Aug 16, 2024 12:07 PM
• URL: https://rwu.libguides.com/EvaluatingSources

What Is a Primary Source?

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms - Definition and Examples

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In research and academics, a primary source refers to information collected from sources that witnessed or experienced an event firsthand. These can be historical documents , literary texts, artistic works, experiments, journal entries, surveys, and interviews. A primary source, which is very different from a secondary source , is also called primary data.

The Library of Congress defines primary sources as "the raw materials of history—original documents and objects which were created at the time under study," in contrast to secondary sources , which are "accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience," ("Using Primary Sources").

Secondary sources are often meant to describe or analyze a primary source and do not give firsthand accounts; primary sources tend to provide more accurate depictions of history but are much harder to come by.

Characteristics of Primary Sources

There are a couple of factors that can qualify an artifact as a primary source. The chief characteristics of a primary source, according to Natalie Sproull, are: "(1) [B]eing present during the experience, event or time and (2) consequently being close in time with the data. This does not mean that data from primary sources are always the best data."

Sproull then goes on to remind readers that primary sources are not always more reliable than secondary sources. "Data from human sources are subject to many types of distortion because of such factors as selective recall, selective perceptions, and purposeful or nonpurposeful omission or addition of information. Thus data from primary sources are not necessarily accurate data even though they come from firsthand sources," (Sproull 1988).

Original Sources

Primary sources are often called original sources, but this is not the most accurate description because you're not always going to be dealing with original copies of primary artifacts. For this reason, "primary sources" and "original sources" should be considered separate. Here's what the authors of "Undertaking Historical Research in Literacy," from Handbook of Reading Research , have to say about this:

"The distinction also needs to be made between primary and original sources . It is by no means always necessary, and all too often it is not possible, to deal only with original sources. Printed copies of original sources, provided they have been undertaken with scrupulous care (such as the published letters of the Founding Fathers), are usually an acceptable substitute for their handwritten originals." (E. J. Monaghan and D. K. Hartman, "Undertaking Historical Research in Literacy," in Handbook of Reading Research , ed. by P. D. Pearson et al. Erlbaum, 2000)

When to Use Primary Sources

Primary sources tend to be most useful toward the beginning of your research into a topic and at the end of a claim as evidence, as Wayne Booth et al. explain in the following passage. "[Primary sources] provide the 'raw data' that you use first to test the working hypothesis and then as evidence to support your claim . In history, for example, primary sources include documents from the period or person you are studying, objects, maps, even clothing; in literature or philosophy, your main primary source is usually the text you are studying, and your data are the words on the page. In such fields, you can rarely write a research paper  without using primary sources," (Booth et al. 2008).

When to Use Secondary Sources

There is certainly a time and place for secondary sources and many situations in which these point to relevant primary sources. Secondary sources are an excellent place to start. Alison Hoagland and Gray Fitzsimmons write: "By identifying basic facts, such as year of construction, secondary sources can point the researcher to the best primary sources , such as the right tax books. In addition, a careful reading of the bibliography in a secondary source can reveal important sources the researcher might otherwise have missed," (Hoagland and Fitzsimmons 2004).

Finding and Accessing Primary Sources

As you might expect, primary sources can prove difficult to find. To find the best ones, take advantage of resources such as libraries and historical societies. "This one is entirely dependent on the assignment given and your local resources; but when included, always emphasize quality. ... Keep in mind that there are many institutions such as the Library of Congress that make primary source material freely available on the Web," (Kitchens 2012).

Methods of Collecting Primary Data

Sometimes in your research, you'll run into the problem of not being able to track down primary sources at all. When this happens, you'll want to know how to collect your own primary data; Dan O'Hair et all tell you how: "If the information you need is unavailable or hasn't yet been gathered, you'll have to gather it yourself. Four basic methods of collecting primary data are field research, content analysis, survey research, and experiments. Other methods of gathering primary data include historical research, analysis of existing statistics, ... and various forms of direct observation," (O'Hair et al. 2001).

• Booth, Wayne C., et al. The Craft of Research . 3rd ed., University of Chicago Press, 2008.
• Hoagland, Alison, and Gray Fitzsimmons. "History."  Recording Historic Structures. 2nd. ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
• Kitchens, Joel D. Librarians, Historians, and New Opportunities for Discourse: A Guide for Clio's Helpers . ABC-CLIO, 2012.
• Monaghan, E. Jennifer, and Douglas K. Hartman. "Undertaking Historical Research in Literacy." Handbook of Reading Research. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.
• O'Hair, Dan, et al. Business Communication: A Framework for Success . South-Western College Pub., 2001.
• Sproull, Natalie L. Handbook of Research Methods: A Guide for Practitioners and Students in the Social Sciences. 2nd ed. Scarecrow Press, 1988.
• "Using Primary Sources." Library of Congress .
• Secondary Sources in Research
• Documentation in Reports and Research Papers
• Primary and Secondary Sources in History
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Introduction to primary source research, definitions, examples of primary sources by discipline.

• Archives terminology
• How to use library catalogs
• How to use finding aids/collection guides
• How to plan your visit to an archive
• Using digitized primary sources
• Evaluating primary sources

A primary source is an eyewitness account of an event or data obtained through original statistical or scientific research. 

What are some examples of primary sources?

• Photographs
• Official records (government reports, transcripts, court records, death certificates, etc.)
• Contemporary news reports (newspapers, telecasts, radio addresses, etc.)
• Polls and Public Opinion Data
• Laws, statutes, hearings

Secondary Source

A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may include pictures of primary sources or quotes from them. Some types of secondary sources include: journal/magazine articles, textbooks, commentaries, and encyclopedias.

Newspapers may be either primary or secondary. Most articles in newspapers are secondary, but reporters may be considered as witnesses to an event.  Any topic on the media coverage of an event or phenomenon would treat newspapers as a primary source. 

Source: https://guides.libraries.indiana.edu/primarysources

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Primary Sources Definition

What are primary sources .

Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to the truth of what actually happened during an historical event or time period. Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied.  A primary source (also called original source ) is a document, recording, artifact, or other source of information that was created at the time under study, usually by a source with direct personal knowledge of the events being described. It serves as an original source of information about the topic.

Similar definitions are used in library science , and other areas of scholarship. In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document created by such a person. Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources , which cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources, though the distinction is not a sharp one.

Newspaper Research

• Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window Includes the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Christian Science Monitor, and more. Newspapers are in PDF format and provide a visual representation of the newspaper.
• ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window Includes both newspapers and scholarly journals
• Historical Newspapers The Guardian and The Observer Search The Guardian (1821-2003) and its sister paper, The Observer (1791-2003)
• New York Newspaper Archive This link opens in a new window Access New York Newspaper Archives and discover stories of the past with NewspaperArchive.com. The archive covers New York history from 1753-2023, with lots of content from smaller, local newspapers. Articles have been scanned as PDFs and include images and advertisements, and are full text searchable.
• America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window America's Historical Newspapers includes articles from local and regional American and Hispanic American newspapers from all 50 states. Coverage dates from 1690 to the early 20th century. Articles have been scanned as PDFs and include images and advertisements, and are full text searchable.
• American Periodicals Series Online This link opens in a new window includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century, 1740-1940.
• Times Digital Archive (London) This link opens in a new window Provides full-text access to back issues of The Times newspaper. Dates of coverage: 1785 to 2006.
• Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 This link opens in a new window Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 provides access to searchable digitized copies of newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries for a Hispanic readership. It features hundreds of monolingual and bilingual newspapers in Spanish and English, including many obscure titles from the 19th century.
• Global Newsstream This link opens in a new window Full text of 300+ U.S. and international news sources. Includes coverage of 150+ major U.S. and international newspapers such as The New York Times and the Times of London, plus hundreds of other news sources and news wires.
• Gale Newspaper Sources This link opens in a new window The Gale NewsVault is a portal to several historical collections of British newspapers and periodicals. It enables full-text searching across several titles simultaneously, including the Times of London, Financial Times, and Times Literary Supplement, along with aggregate newspaper and periodical collections covering the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
• Access World News This link opens in a new window Access World News provides the html full text and, for some titles, the pdf "as printed" visual representation, of articles from a variety of national and international news sources, including newspapers, digital-native news websites, television and radio transcripts, blogs, college and university newspapers, journals, magazines, and some audio and video. Most international titles are English language. Dates of coverage vary from title to title, but primarily span the late 20th century to present.

The Billy Rose Theatre Collection

TITLE: [Scene from Othello with Paul Robeson as Othello and Uta Hagen as Desdemona, Theatre Guild Production, Broadway, 1943-44]   http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robeson_Hagen_Othello.jpg SOURCE:Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540

The Billy Rose Theatre Collection of The New York Public Library is one of the largest and most comprehensive archives devoted to the theatrical arts. This image is a work of an employee of the United States Farm Security Administration or Office of War Information domestic photographic units, created during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

• Billy Rose Collection NYPL The Billy Rose Theatre Division of The New York Public Library is one of the largest and most comprehensive archives devoted to the theatrical arts.
• New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts On this site, you can search The New York Public Library's vast holdings, initiate a research visit, submit a query to an archivist, and access digitized material. Most Broadway shows can be viewed in the special collections. You will need a NYPL library card to view them.
• ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window Thousands of libraries, museums, and archives have contributed nearly a million collection descriptions to ArchiveGrid.
• WorldCat - FirstSearch (OCLC) This link opens in a new window Search for books and more in libraries in the U.S. and around the world. Indicates when NYU Libraries holds a copy of a book and shows you nearby libraries with holdings.
• Internet Archive Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library offering free universal access to books, movies & music, as well as 456 billion archived web pages.
• Archives Unbound This link opens in a new window NYU is currently subscribing 14 collections:African America, Communists, and the National Negro Congress; Federal Response to Radicalism; Federal Surveillance of African Americans; Feminism in Cuba - 19th through 20th century archival document; Global Missions and Theology; India from Crown Rule to Republic; Testaments to the Holocaust (Documents and Rare Printed Materials from the Wiener Library, London); The Hindu Conspiracy Cases (Activities of the Indian Independence Movement in the U.S., 1908-1933); The Indian Army and Colonial Warfare on the Frontiers of India; The International Women’s Movement (The Pan Pacific Southeast Asia Women’s Association of the USA, 1950-1985); The Middle East Online - Arab-Israeli Relations; The Middle East Online - Iraq; U.S. and Iraqi Relations: U.S. Technical Aid; and, Witchcraft in Europe.

Historical Databases

An advert for P.T. Barnum's "Feejee Mermaid" in 1842 or thereabout. Author: P. T. Barnum or an employee, Source: Newspaper advert commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Barnum_mermai... This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

• America: History and Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window ndexes literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. The database indexes 1,700 journals and also includes citations and links to book and media reviews. Strong English-language journal coverage is balanced by an international perspective on topics and events, including abstracts in English of articles published in more than 40 languages. Publication dates of coverage: 1964 to present.
• Historical Abstracts with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more. Indexes more than 1,700 academic historical journals in over 40 languages. Publication dates of coverage: 1955 to present.
• Theatre in Context Collection This link opens in a new window O’Dell’s Annals of the New York Stage, the Oxford University Press Companion series, and Greenwood’s American Theatre Companies series are just a few of the many in-copyright sources included in the Theatre in Context Collection. Placed alongside thousands of playbills, posters, photographs, and related theatrical ephemera, users will be able to paint a more comprehensive picture of the life and evolution of dramatic works.
• Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window Contains 1297 sources with 1100 authors, covering the non-fiction published works of leading African-Americans. Particular care has been taken to index this material so that it can be searched more thoroughly than ever before. Where possible the complete published non-fiction works are included, as well as interviews, journal articles, speeches, essays, pamphlets, letters and other fugitive material.
• Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window Provides full-text and full-image access to hundreds of journals published in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and areas of general popular interest. Each periodical is covered back to its first issue, regardless of when it began publication. International in scope, PAO covers periodicals in a number of Western languages.
• Accessible Archives This link opens in a new window Includes the following collections: African American Newspapers, The Civil War Part I. A Newspaper Perspective, The Pennsylvania Genealogical Catalog, Pennsylvania Newspaper Record, South Carolina Newspapers, and The Liberator. ** Within these collections are papers such as The Charleston Mercury, The Christian Recorder, The Colored American, Douglass Monthly, Frederick, Douglass Paper, Freedom's Journal, Godey's Lady's Book, The Liberator, The National Era, The New York Herald, The North Star, The Pennsylvania Gazette, The Pennsylvania Packet, The Maryland Gazette, Provincial Freeman, Richmond Enquirer, The South Carolina Gazette, The Gazette of the State of South Carolina, The South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, The South Carolina and American General Gazette, Weekly Advocate.
• Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700. Searchable full text is also available for a subset of the collection.
• Eighteenth Century Journals This link opens in a new window Eighteenth Century Journals brings together rare journals printed between 1685 and 1835, primarily in the British Isles (with some publications from India, the Caribbean, and Europe). Users can view and download page images and search transcribed full text for all journals in the collection.
• C19: The 19th Century Index This link opens in a new window C19: The 19th Century Index provides bibliographic coverage of nineteenth-century books, periodicals, official documents, newspapers and archives from the English-speaking world. This database includes the Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals (1824-1900), Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, Palmer's Index to The Times, the Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue, and more.
• Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives 1960 - 1974 This link opens in a new window This resource consists of diaries, letters, autobiographies and other memoirs, written and oral histories, manifestos, government documents, memorabilia, and scholarly commentary. With 150,000 pages of material at completion, this searchable collection is a resource for students and scholars researching this period in American history, culture, and politics.
• African American Archives (via Fold3) This link opens in a new window This full text resource offers access to original documents that reveal a side of the African American story that few have seen before.
• African American Experience This link opens in a new window Full-text digital resource exploring the history and culture of African Americans, as well as the greater Black Diaspora. Features access to full-text content from more than 400 titles, 3,000 slave narratives, over 2000 images, 5,000 primary sources, and 250 vetted Web sites.

Letters & Diaries /Oral Histories

• Oral History Online This link opens in a new window Provides in-depth indexing to more than 2,700 collections of Oral History in English from around the world. The collection provides keyword searching of almost 281,000 pages of full-text by close to 10,000 individuals from all walks of life.
• American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window This database contains 2,009 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of diaries, letters and memoirs. Includes 4,000 pages of previously unpublished manuscripts such as the letters of Amos Wood and his wife and the diary of Maryland Planter William Claytor. The collection also includes biographies, an extensive bibliography of the sources in the database, and material licensed from The Civil War Day-by-Day by E.B. Long.
• British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window Includes 10,000 pages of diaries and letters revealing the experiences of approximately 500 women. The collection now includes primary materials spanning more than 300 years. The collection also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography of the sources in the database.
• North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories This link opens in a new window North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories includes 2,162 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of information, so providing a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada between 1800 and 1950. Contains contemporaneous letters, diaries, oral histories, interviews, and other personal narratives.
• North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window North American Women's Letters and Diaries includes the immediate experiences of 1,325 women and 150,000 pages of diaries and letters.

Gale Primary Sources

• Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window Gale Artemis is a groundbreaking research environment that integrates formerly disparate digital collections to enable innovative research. Gale Artemis provides an unprecedented, seamless research experience that helps students find a starting point, search across a wide array of materials and points in time, and discover new ways to analyze information.

Victorian Popular Culture

• Victorian Popular Culture This link opens in a new window An essential resource for the study of popular entertainment in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This innovative portal invites users into the darkened halls, small backrooms and travelling venues that hosted everything from spectacular shows and bawdy burlesque, to the world of magic and spiritualist séances. ** The resource is divided into four self-contained sections: Moving Pictures, Optical Entertainments and the Advent of Cinema; Music Hall, Theatre and Popular Entertainment; Circuses, Sideshows and Freaks; Spiritualism, Sensation and Magic

Historical Image Collections

commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Cushman_in_Ha... , The American actress Charlotte Cushman advertised in William Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Washington Theater in 1861.  Author:Washington Theater, SOURCE:Public Library of Congress. this image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

• American Broadsides and Ephemera This link opens in a new window American Broadsides and Ephemera offers fully searchable images of approximately 15,000 broadsides printed between 1820 and 1900 and 15,000 pieces of ephemera printed between 1760 and 1900. The remarkably diverse subjects of these broadsides range from contemporary accounts of the Civil War, unusual occurrences and natural disasters to official government proclamations, tax bills and town meeting reports. Featuring many rare items, the pieces of ephemera include clipper ship sailing cards, early trade cards, bill heads, theater and music programs, stock certificates, menus and invitations documenting civic, political and private celebrations.
• Early American Imprints, Series I. Evans, 1639-1800 This link opens in a new window Search or browse the books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the renowned bibliography by Charles Evans.
• Early American Imprints, Series II. Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819 This link opens in a new window Search or browse the books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the distinguished bibliography by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker. 1801-1819
• American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Provide digital access to the most comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1691 and 1877. Included digitized images of American magazines and journals never before available outside the walls of the American Antiquarian Society. The collection is available in five series: Series 1 (1691-1820) - Series 2 (1821-1837) - Series 3 (1838-1852) - Series 4 (1853-1865) - Series 5 (1866-1877)

Link to Bobst Special Collections

• NYU Special Collections Bobst Library's Special Collections department houses significant archival resources including materials from the Downtown Collection, which documents New York City's downtown arts scene from the 1970s through the early 1990s. Maria Irene Fornés and Richard Foreman are among the many artists whose materials are housed in the Downtown Collection.
• Fales It is especially strong in English literature from the middle of the 18th century to the present, documenting developments in the novel. The Downtown Collection documents the downtown New York art, performance, and literary scenes from 1975 to the present and is extremely rich in archival holdings, including extensive film and video objects.
• Tamiment One of the finest research collections in the country documenting the history of radical politics: socialism, communism, anarchism, utopian experiments, the cultural left, the New Left, and the struggle for civil rights and civil liberties.

Guide to International Collections

• SIBMAS International Directory of Performing Arts Collections and Institutions

Books Containing Primary Source Documents

• The mediaeval stage by Chambers, E. K. (Edmund Kerchever), 1866-1954 Call Number: Online versions avail.
• The Elizabethan stage by Chambers, E. K. (Edmund Kerchever), 1866-1954 Call Number: PN2589 .C4 1965 4 vol. plus online version avail
• The diary of Samuel Pepys by Pepys, Samuel, 1633-1703 Call Number: Avail. online
• A history of theatrical art in ancient and modern times. by Mantzius, Karl, 1860-1921 Call Number: PN2106 .M313 1970 4 vol. also internet access
• Ben Jonson by Ben Jonson Call Number: online access
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• Last Updated: Jul 31, 2024 1:16 PM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/primary

Primary Sources Research Guide

• What Are Primary Sources?
• What Are Secondary Sources?
• Examples of Primary & Secondary Sources
• Where to Look for Primary Sources

Get Primary Sources by Subject

Many library subject guides contain sections on primary sources for those subjects. BELOW you can also see a list of research guides that have been tagged "primary sources."

Still have questions? Please get in touch with the librarian for your subject area for more information about specific primary sources in your field.

Defining Primary Sources

• Primary sources are original materials that provide direct evidence or first-hand testimony concerning a topic or event -- firsthand records created by people who actually participated in or remembered an event and reported on the event and their reactions to it.
• Primary sources can be contemporary sources created at the time when the event occurred (e.g., letters and newspaper articles) or later (such as, memoirs and oral history interviews).
• Primary sources may be published or unpublished. Unpublished sources include unique materials (e.g., family papers) often referred to as archives and manuscripts.
• What constitutes a primary source varies by discipline -- see Primary Sources by Discipline below . How the researcher uses the source generally determines whether it is a primary source or not.

*This material is used with permission from the University of Pittsburgh Library's research guide on Primary Sources

Primary Sources by Discipline

The definition of a primary source varies depending upon the academic discipline and the context in which it is used.

1. In the humanities , a primary source could be defined as something that was created either during the time period being studied or afterward by individuals reflecting on their involvement in the events of that time.

Examples from the humanities:  

Art: painting, photograph, print, sculpture, film or other work of art, sketch book, architectural model or drawing, building or structure, letter,  organizational records, personal account by artist History: artifact, diary, government report, interview, letter, map, news report, oral history, organizational records, photograph, speech, work of art Literature: interview, letter, manuscript, personal account by writer, poem, work of fiction or drama, contemporary review Music: score, sound recording, contemporary review, letter, personal account by composer or musician

2. In the social sciences , the definition of a primary source would be expanded to include numerical data that has been gathered to analyze relationships between people, events, and their environment.  

Examples from the social sciences: 

Anthropology: artifact, field notes, fossil, photograph Business: market research or surveys, anything that documents a corporation's activities, such as annual reports, meeting minutes, legal documents, marketing materials, and financial records. Communication: websites, blogs, broadcast recordings and transcripts, advertisements and commercials, public opinion polls, and magazines (e.g., Rolling Stone ). Economics: company statistics, consumer survey, data series Geography: field notes, census data, maps, satellite images, and aerial photographs. Law: code, statute, court opinion, legislative report Psychology: case study, clinical case report, experimental replication, follow-up study, longitudinal study, treatment outcome study Sociology: cultural artifact, interview, oral history, organizational records, statistical data, survey

3. In the natural sciences , a primary source could be defined as a report of original findings or ideas. These sources often appear in the form of research articles with sections on methods and results.

Examples in the natural sciences:

Biology, Chemistry, etc: research or lab notes, genetic evidence, plant specimens, technical reports, and other reports of original research or discoveries (e.g., conference papers and proceedings, dissertations, scholarly articles).

*This material is used with permission from the Lafayette College Library research guide on primary sources . Image 1: "Massachusetts Bay Colony 1776"  CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Tom Woodward: Flickr Image 2: "data"  CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 CyberHades: Flickr Image 3: "Katydid 50x Magnification Wing, Coventry, CT"  CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Macroscopic Solutions: Flickr

Examples of Primary Sources

Primary sources typically include such items as:

• manuscripts, letters, first-person diaries, memoirs, personal journals, interviews, speeches, oral histories, and other materials individuals used to describe events in which they were participants or observers. Many of these materials frequently are referred to as " papers ";
• records of government agencies and other organizations, including such documents as parliamentary debates, proceedings of organization meetings, conferences, etc. Many of these materials frequently are referred to as " archives ";
• original documents such as birth certificates, marriage and baptismal registers, wills, trial transcripts, etc.;
• published materials written at the time of the event, including newspapers, news magazines, advertising, cartoons, and other ephemeral publications such as pamplets and flyers;
• contemporary creative works of literature, art, and music, such as novels, paintings, compositions, poems, etc.;
• contemporary photographs, maps, audio recordings, television and radio broadcasts, and moving pictures;
• Internet communications including email, listservs, and blogs;
• statistical and numeric data collected by various government and private agencies, including census data, opinion polls, and other surveys;
• research reports and case studies in the sciences or social sciences;
• artifacts of all kinds such as coins, clothing, fossils, furniture, and musical instruments from the time period under study

Primary sources sometimes can be ambiguous and contradictory, relecting a specific person's opinions and contemporary cultural influences on them. For that very reason such sources are invaluable tools for developing your own interpretations and reaching your own conclusions about what is going on at a point in time.

• Next: What Are Secondary Sources? >>
• Last Updated: Mar 1, 2024 9:31 AM
• URL: https://guides.libraries.emory.edu/main/primary_sources_overview

Primary Sources Guide

Understanding research sources.

• African American Studies
• Latin American & Latina/o Studies
• Native American & Indigenous Studies
• Evaluating Primary Sources
• Citing Primary Sources

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• What are Primary Sources?
• What are Secondary Sources?
• What are Tertiary Sources?

A primary source is a first-hand account from a person or organization who:

• Created an original work
• Participated in new scientific discoveries
• Witnessed an event

Some examples of primary sources include:

• Art and artifacts
• Autobiographies, diaries, and memoirs
• Interviews and oral histories
• Novels and poetry
• Photographs
• Data and surveys

Why are primary sources useful?  Primary sources are useful to:

• Observe and analyze an event from an eyewitness perspective
• Develop your own opinions and explanations
• Learn if you agree or disagree with the authors of secondary/tertiary sources and their conclusions

A secondary source has the following qualities:

• It comments on or analyzes something
• It often summarizes or interprets primary sources
• It's usually written by someone who was not directly involved or an eyewitness

Some examples of secondary sources include:

• Analysis or criticism, such as literary criticism
• Biographies
• Essays and reviews

Why are secondary sources useful? Secondary sources are useful because they:

• Help you consider diverse viewpoints about a topic
• Organize and outline information in an approachable way
• Offer information and analysis from experts

Remember, secondary sources are often based on studying and analyzing primary sources . Another way to think about it? Your research paper is a secondary source because you're analyzing and interpreting other sources.

A tertiary source has the following qualities:

• It lists and compiles information without additional analysis
• It repackages important ideas and information from other primary and secondary sources

Some examples of tertiary sources include:

• Directories of local, state, and national organizations
• Encyclopedias and dictionaries
• Guidebooks and handbooks

Why are tertiary sources useful? Tertiary sources are useful because they help you:

• Gather background information about a topic or concept
• Find a variety of information in one source
• Provide information in a concise and compact way

Examples of Primary Sources vs. Other Sources

• Communications

One area of study at Central Piedmont where primary sources are often used is History . Here are some examples:

• Primary Source = Autobiography :  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by Frederick Douglass
• Secondary Source = Biography :  Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight

Another area of study at Central Piedmont where primary sources often come into play is English . Here are some examples:

• Primary Source = Novel :  Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
• Secondary Source = Literary Criticism :  Gabriel García Márquez in Retrospect: A Collection Book , edited by Gene H. Bell-Villada

One other area of study at Central Piedmont where primary sources often come into play is Communications . Here are some examples:

• Primary Sources = Memoir :  Deaf Utopia: A Memoir--And a Love Letter to a Way of Life  by Nyle DiMarco
• Secondary Sources = Journal Article : "Curriculum and Instruction for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Evidence from the Past—Considerations for the Future" (2023) by Maria C. Hartman, Elaine R. Smolen, and Brynne Powell
• Tertiary Sources = Reference Book :  American Sign Language: A Step-by-Step Guide to Signing by Suzie Chafin

Credit : Austin Community College's Primary Sources guide served as the inspiration and model for this LibGuide.

Additional Help

• Next: Finding Primary Sources >>
• Last Updated: Jun 26, 2024 8:48 AM
• URL: https://researchguides.cpcc.edu/primary-sources

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Information

Primary sources.

• What is a Primary Source
• Locating Primary Source Materials
• Using Primary Sources
• Digital Primary Sources
• Historic Newspapers
• Historic Census Data and Statistics
• Special Collections and Archives This link opens in a new window

What is a Primary Source?

Definition of Primary Sources:  

A primary source is a piece of evidence created during the time you are studying. These sources offer an eye-witness view of a particular event. They can be any type of format, as long as you as the researcher are looking for the source's context: Who made this, and what was their perspective? What other sources describe the same events? Whose perspective isn't represented, and where can you find it? What was the world like when this thing was made? With primary sources, you will ask a lot of questions!

Some common types of records used as primary sources include:

• Original Documents , including eyewitness accounts or the first record of events such as diaries, speeches, letters, manuscripts, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, or official records
• Creative Works such as literature, music, art, film, etc.
• Relics or Artifacts such as pottery, furniture, clothing, and buildings
• Data from original research whether statistical or scientific

Remember: you have to find context for your primary sources.

What is a Secondary Source?

Definition of a secondary source:.

A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. Some common types of secondary sources include:

• A journal/magazine article which interprets or reviews previous findings 
• A history textbook 
• A book about the effects of WWI 
• Biographies
• Encyclopedia articles

Remember: a secondary source is making an argument based on research from other primary and secondary sources.

Primary Sources by Discipline

Different academic disciplines have different definitions of what constitutes a primary source:.

In the Humanities (history, literature, religion), primary sources focus on original documents or accounts contemporary to a specific event or an individual’s life. Terms such as “eyewitness” or “firsthand” are also commonly used to describe these sources. Autobiographical accounts written at a later date are also considered primary sources. Letters, diaries, journal entries, public records as well as contemporaneous newspapers articles offer solid examples of this type of primary source. Fictional works such as short stories or novels written during that specific time period constitute primary documents, too.

In the Arts (art, dance, music, theatre), primary sources are as diverse as the various disciplines in the category. They may include paintings, sculpture, prints, performances, video or audio recordings, scripts, or musical scores. Social Sciences (psychology, sociology, education) place a heavy emphasis on unanalyzed data sets as primary sources. Numerical data sets such as census figures, opinion polls, surveys or interview transcripts constitute this type of raw, uninterpreted data. A researcher’s field notes are also primary sources in the social sciences. In the Sciences (biology, ecology, chemistry), primary source documents focus on original research, ideas, or findings published in academic journals. These articles mark the first publication of such research; and they detail the researcher’s methodology and results. Plant or mineral samples and other artifacts are primary sources as well.

In STEM fields , primary sources may include papers or proceedings from scientific conferences; journal articles sharing original research, technical reports, patents, lab notes, and researcher correspondence or diaries.

Portions borrowed from Berea College Hutchins Library

• Next: Locating Primary Source Materials >>

Is it a primary source?

Are you using a primary source?

It depends on the questions you're asking!

Primary Resources Presentation Slides

Primary vs. secondary sources, differentiating primary and secondary sources in each discipline.

While primary sources offer a firsthand account, secondary sources are written after the fact. Secondary sources analyze, interpret, explain, or analyze a primary source, event or individual. These resources represent a second publication cycle, tasked with presenting an argument or to persuade the reader.

Borrowed from Indiana University Bloomington Libraries

• Last Updated: Jul 17, 2024 10:09 AM
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Primary Sources: What They Are and Where to Find Them

What is a primary source.

• Finding Primary Sources in the UWRF Library

A primary source is an original object or document created during the time under study.   Primary sources vary by discipline and can include historical and legal documents, diaries, letters, family records, speeches, interviews, autobiographies, film, government documents, eye witness accounts, results of an experiment, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, and art objects. In the natural and social sciences, the results of an experiment or study are typically found in scholarly articles or papers delivered at conferences, so those articles and papers that present the original results are considered primary sources.  

A secondary source is something written about a primary source. Secondary sources include comments on, interpretations of, or discussions about the original material. You can think of secondary sources as second-hand information. If I tell you something, I am the primary source. If you tell someone else what I told you, you are the secondard source. Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that evaluate or criticize someone else's original research.

Research versus Review

Scientific and other peer reviewed journals are excellent sources for primary research sources. However, not every article in those journals will be an article with original research. Some will include book reviews and other materials that are more obviously secondary sources . More difficult to differentiate from original research articles are review articles . Both types of articles will end with a list of References (or Works Cited). Review articles are often as lengthy or even longer that original research articles. What the authors of review articles are doing is analysing and evaluating current research or investigations related to a specific topic, field, or problem. They are not primary sources since they review previously published material. They can be helpful for identifying potentially good primary sources, but they aren't primary themselves. Primary research articles can be identified by a commonly used format. If an article contains the following elements, you can count on it being a primary research article. Look for sections entitled Methods (sometimes with variations, such as Materials and Methods), Results (usually followed with charts and statistical tables), and Discussion . You can also read the abstract to get a good sense of the kind of article that is being presented. If it is a review article instead of a research article, the abstract should make that clear. If there is no abstract at all, that in itself may be a sign that it is not a primary resource. Short research articles, such as those found in Science and similar scientific publications that mix news, editorials, and forums with research reports, may not include any of those elements. In those cases look at the words the authors use, phrases such as "we tested," "we used," and "in our study, we measured" will tell you that the article is reporting on original research.

Primary or Secondary: You Decide

The distinction between types of sources can get tricky, because a secondary source may also be a primary source. DoVeanna Fulton's book on slave narratives, for example, can be looked at as both a secondary and a primary source. The distinction may depend on how you are using the source and the nature of your research. If you are researching slave narratives, the book would be a secondary source because Fulton is commenting on the narratives. If your assignment is to write a book review of Speaking Power , the book becomes a primary source, because you are commenting, evaluating, and discussing DoVeanna Fulton's ideas.

You can't always determine if something is primary or secondary just because of the source it is found in. Articles in newspapers and magazines are usually considered secondary sources. However, if a story in a newspaper about the Iraq war is an eyewitness account, that would be a primary source. If the reporter, however, includes additional materials he or she has gathered through interviews or other investigations, the article would be a secondary source. An interview in the Rolling Stone with Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes would be a primary source, but a review of the latest Black Crowes album would be a secondary source. In contrast, scholarly journals include research articles with primary materials, but they also have review articles that are not, or in some disciplines include articles where scholars are looking at primary source materials and coming to new conclusions.

For your thinking and not just to confuse you even further, some experts include tertiary sources as an additional distinction to make. These are sources that compile or, especially, digest other sources. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered tertiary sources when their chief purpose is to list or briefly summarize or, from an even further removed distance, repackage ideas. This is the reason that you may be advised not to include an encyclopedia article in a final bibliography.

The above material was adapted from the excellent explanation written by John Henderson found on Ithaca College's library website http://www.ithacalibrary.com/sp/subjects/primary and is used with permission.

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• Last Updated: Nov 8, 2023 3:51 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uwrf.edu/primarysources

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What is Primary Research and How do I get Started?

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Primary research is any type of research that you collect yourself. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and ethnographic research. A good researcher knows how to use both primary and secondary sources in their writing and to integrate them in a cohesive fashion.

Conducting primary research is a useful skill to acquire as it can greatly supplement your research in secondary sources, such as journals, magazines, or books. You can also use it as the focus of your writing project. Primary research is an excellent skill to learn as it can be useful in a variety of settings including business, personal, and academic.

But I’m not an expert!

With some careful planning, primary research can be done by anyone, even students new to writing at the university level. The information provided on this page will help you get started.

What types of projects or activities benefit from primary research?

When you are working on a local problem that may not have been addressed before and little research is there to back it up.

When you are working on writing about a specific group of people or a specific person.

When you are working on a topic that is relatively new or original and few publications exist on the subject.

You can also use primary research to confirm or dispute national results with local trends.

What types of primary research can be done?

Many types of primary research exist. This guide is designed to provide you with an overview of primary research that is often done in writing classes.

Interviews: Interviews are one-on-one or small group question and answer sessions. Interviews will provide a lot of information from a small number of people and are useful when you want to get an expert or knowledgeable opinion on a subject.

Surveys: Surveys are a form of questioning that is more rigid than interviews and that involve larger groups of people. Surveys will provide a limited amount of information from a large group of people and are useful when you want to learn what a larger population thinks.

Observations: Observations involve taking organized notes about occurrences in the world. Observations provide you insight about specific people, events, or locales and are useful when you want to learn more about an event without the biased viewpoint of an interview.

Analysis: Analysis involves collecting data and organizing it in some fashion based on criteria you develop. They are useful when you want to find some trend or pattern. A type of analysis would be to record commercials on three major television networks and analyze gender roles.

Where do I start?

Consider the following questions when beginning to think about conducting primary research:

• What do I want to discover?
• How do I plan on discovering it? (This is called your research methods or methodology)
• Who am I going to talk to/observe/survey? (These people are called your subjects or participants)
• How am I going to be able to gain access to these groups or individuals?
• What are my biases about this topic?
• How can I make sure my biases are not reflected in my research methods?
• What do I expect to discover?

Evidence Based Practice

• 1. Ask: PICO(T) Question
• 2. Align: Levels of Evidence
• 3a. Acquire: Resource Types
• 3b. Acquire: Searching
• 4. Appraise

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

• Qualitative and Quantitative Sources
• Managing References

Sources are considered primary, secondary, or tertiary depending on the originality of the information presented and their proximity or how close they are to the source of information. This distinction can differ between subjects and disciplines.

In the sciences, research findings may be communicated informally between researchers through email, presented at conferences (primary source), and then, possibly, published as a journal article or technical report (primary source). Once published, the information may be commented on by other researchers (secondary sources), and/or professionally indexed in a database (secondary sources). Later the information may be summarized into an encyclopedic or reference book format (tertiary sources). Source

Primary Sources

A primary source in science is a document or record that reports on a study, experiment, trial or research project. Primary sources are usually written by the person(s) who did the research, conducted the study, or ran the experiment, and include hypothesis, methodology, and results.

Primary Sources include:

• Pilot/prospective studies
• Cohort studies
• Survey research
• Case studies
• Lab notebooks
• Clinical trials and randomized clinical trials/RCTs
• Dissertations

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources list, summarize, compare, and evaluate primary information and studies so as to draw conclusions on or present current state of knowledge in a discipline or subject. Sources may include a bibliography which may direct you back to the primary research reported in the article.

Secondary Sources include:

• reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis
• newsletters and professional news sources
• practice guidelines & standards
• clinical care notes
• patient education Information
• government & legal Information
• entries in nursing or medical encyclopedias Source

More on Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis

Systematic reviews – Systematic reviews are best for answering single questions (eg, the effectiveness of tight glucose control on microvascular complications of diabetes). They are more scientifically structured than traditional reviews, being explicit about how the authors attempted to find all relevant articles, judge the scientific quality of each study, and weigh evidence from multiple studies with conflicting results. These reviews pay particular attention to including all strong research, whether or not it has been published, to avoid publication bias (positive studies are preferentially published). Source

Meta-analysis -- Meta-analysis, which is commonly included in systematic reviews, is a statistical method that quantitatively combines the results from different studies. It can be used to provide an overall estimate of the net benefit or harm of an intervention, even when these effects may not have been apparent in the individual studies [ 9 ]. Meta-analysis can also provide an overall quantitative estimate of other parameters such as diagnostic accuracy, incidence, or prevalence. Source

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• Last Updated: Nov 9, 2023 12:14 PM
• URL: https://libraryguides.nau.edu/evidencebasedpractice

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Identify Primary Sources in the Sciences

Call: 1-866-VCU-BOOK E-mail: [email protected] More contact information

Primary Sources in the Sciences

What is a primary source in the sciences.

A primary source is information or literature about original research provided or written by the original researcher. Examples of primary sources include...  

• Experimental data
• Laboratory notes
• Conference Proceedings
• Technical Reports
• Some peer-reviewed scientific journal articles of original research

How can I identify a primary article?

In the primary article, the authors will write about research that they did and the conclusions they made. Some key areas in the article to look for are similar to those found in a lab report including... 

• A research problem statement , or description of what the researchers are trying to discover or determine with their research,
• Background information about previously published research on the topic,
• Methods where the author tells the reader what they did, how they did it, and why,
• Results where the author explains the outcomes of their research   

Sometimes scholarly journals will include review articles, which summarize published research on a topic but do not contain new results from original research. Even though these sources are scholary, they are NOT primary articles.

How do I know if my source is scholarly?

Along with being a primary source, it is frequently important that you know if your source is scholarly and appropriate for academic research. Some traits of scholarly articles are...

• Citations to work done by others
• Language is often serious and technical
• Images are usually charts, graphs, or otherwise informative, rather than glossy photographs or advertisments
• Authors' names are given, along with their affilitions with university, research institutions, etc.
• Date of publication is given, frequently along with the date on which the articles was submitted for peer review
• "About" or "instructions for authors" link on the journal's Web site indicates that the journal is peer reviewed or describes its peer review process

Finding Primary Articles

The best place to look for primary, scientific articles are journal databases provided by the library. These database contain millions of articles, most of them primary articles from scholarly journals. 

 Many of these databases allow you to refine you search to only articles or peer-reviewed journals, however, you still need to look at the article to determine if it is scholarly and contains original research.

• VCU Libraries' Databases List
• Research Guides to Locate Databases by Subject
• Ask Us! Chat, phone, email, or text VCU Libraries for advice on the best databases for your topic.

Secondary Sources in the Sciences

Secondary sources in the sciences are about the research and discoveries of other people, usually with the goal of providing an overview of the topic that allows readers to quickly become familar with topic.

Some examples of secondary sources are...

• Review articles
• Scientific encyclopedias
• Last Updated: Jan 30, 2023 10:09 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.vcu.edu/science-primary-sources

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Library Research Guide for the History of Science: Introduction

• What is a Primary Source?
• Background and Context/Biography
• Exploring Your Topic
• Using HOLLIS
• What is a Secondary Source?

Page Contents

Knowing a primary source when you see one, kinds of primary sources, find primary sources in hollis, using digital libraries and collections online, using bibliographies.

• Exploring the Special Collections at Harvard
• Citing Sources & Organizing Research

Primary sources provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented.

Often these sources are created at the time when the events or conditions are occurring, but primary sources can also include autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories recorded later.

Primary sources are characterized by their content, regardless of the format available. (Handwritten notes could be published; the published book might be digitized or put on microfilm, but those notes are still primary sources in any format).

Some types of primary sources:

• Original documents (excerpts or translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, contemporary newspaper articles, autobiographies, official records, pamphlets, meeting notes, photographs, contemporary sketches
• Creative works : Poetry, drama, novels, music, art 
• Relics or artifacts : Furniture, clothing, buildings

Examples of primary sources include:

• A poster from the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters' 1962 strike
• The papers of William James
• A 1970 U.S. State Dept document updating Nixon on U.S.-Soviet space cooperation activities (Harvard login)
• A British pamphlet: "Electric Lighting for Country Houses," 1898
• Phineas Gage's skull
• The text of J. Robert Oppenheimer's "Atomic Weapons" presentation to the American Philosophical Society

Outline of Primary Sources for History

Archives and Manuscripts

Archives and manuscripts are the unpublished records of persons (letters, notes, diaries, etc.) and organizations. What are Archives?   Usually each archival collection has a (short) catalog record and a detailed finding aid (which is often available online).

• "Catalog record” refers to the kind of record found in library online catalogs, similar to those for books, although often a bit longer. Example of an Archive record .
• “Finding aid” (sometimes called an inventory) generally refers to a list of the folder labels for the collection, accompanied by a brief collection overview (scope and contents note) and a biographical (or institutional) note on the creator of the collection.  Finding aids may be as long as needed given the size of the collection.  They vary considerably according to the practices of individual repositories. Example of a Finding aid .

To find  Archives and manuscripts  at Harvard, go to  HOLLIS Advanced search .  Search your keywords or Subject terms (see the  HOLLIS page of this guide ) in the Library Catalog, limiting to Resource Type: Archives/Manuscripts.  You can choose the library at the right (Search Scope).  Countway  Medicine has abundant medical archives, and Schlesinger has many archives of women activists, many in health and reproductive rights fields.    Sample search on Subject: Women health .

Library Research Guide for Finding Manuscripts and Archival Collections explains

• How to find archives and manuscripts at Harvard
• How to find archives and manuscripts elsewhere in US via search tools and via subject guides .
• How to find archives and manuscripts in Europe and elsewhere.
• Requesting digitization of archival material from Harvard and from other repositories .

For digitized archival material together with other kinds of primary sources:

• Finding Primary Sources Online offers general instructions for finding primary sources online and a list of resources by region and country
• Online Primary Source Collections for the History of Science lists digital collections at Harvard and beyond by topic.
• Online Primary Source Collections for History lists digital collections at Harvard and beyond by topic.

Methods for finding books are described under the HOLLIS page  of this guide and in the Finding Primary Sources in HOLLIS box on this page. 

• Book Reviews may give an indication as to how a scientific work was received. See:   Finding Book Reviews . 
• Numerous, especially pre-1923 books (as well as periodicals and other sources) can be found and full text searched in several digital libraries (see box on this page).

Periodicals

Scientific articles :

Web of Science Citation Indexes (Harvard Login)  (1900- ) articles in all areas of science. Includes medical articles not in PubMed. You can use the Cited Reference search in the Web of Science to find primary source articles that cite a specified article, thus getting an idea of its reception. More information on the Web of Science .

PubMed (1946- ) covers, usually with abstracts, periodical articles on all areas of medicine. - --Be sure to look at the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings)  at the bottom of pertinent records. Very recent articles may not as yet received their MeSH terms.  So look at older records to find the MeSH terms, and use a variety of keywords as well as MeSH terms to find the new records. --​The MeSH terms are the same as the Medical Subject terms found in HOLLIS. --Hit Free article or Try Harvard Library, not the publisher's name to see full text

JSTOR (Harvard Login)  offers full-text of complete runs (up to about 5 years ago) of over 400 journals. JSTOR allows simultaneous or individual searching, full-text searching optional, numerous journals in a variety of fields of science and medicine. See the list at the bottom of the Advanced search screen. JSTOR searches the "Notes and News" sections of journals ( Science is especially rich in this material). In Advanced Search choose Item Type: Miscellaneous to limit largely to "Notes and News".

PsycINFO) (Harvard Login)  (1872- ) indexes the professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines

Many more scientific periodical indexes are listed in the Library Research Guide for the History of Science .

General interest magazines and periodicals see:

American Periodicals Series Online (Harvard Login)  (1740-1900) offers full text of about 1100 American periodicals. Includes several scientific and medical journals including the American Journal of Science and the Medical Repository. In cases where a periodical started before 1900, coverage is included until 1940.

British Periodicals (Harvard Login)  (1681-1920) offers full text for several hundred British periodicals.

Ethnic NewsWatch (Harvard Login)  (1959- ) is a full text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press.

Periodicals Index Online (Harvard Login)  indexes contents of thousands of US and European journals in the humanities and social sciences, from their first issues to 1995.

Reader's Guide Retrospective (WilsonWeb) (Harvard Login)  (1890-1982)  indexes many American popular periodicals.

Many more general periodical indexes are listed in Finding Articles in General and Popular Periodicals (North America and Western Europe) .

Articles in non-science fields (religion, public policy): see the list in the Library Research Guide for History .

Professional/Trade : Aimed at particular trades or professions.  See the Library Research Guide for History

Newspaper articles : see the Guide to Newspapers and Newspaper Indexes .

Personal accounts . These are first person narratives recalling or describing a person’s life and opinions. These include Diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, and when delivered orally and recorded: Oral histories and Interviews.

National Library of Medicine Oral Histories

Regulatory Oral History Hub  (Kenan Institute for Ethics, Duke University) offers links to digital collections containing interviews with regulators, lawyers, and judges. Mainly U.S.

Visual sources :

Records for many, but by no means all, individual Harvard University Library images are available in  HOLLIS Images , an online catalog of images. Records include subjects and a thumbnail image.  HOLLIS Images is included in HOLLIS  searches.

Science & Society Picture Library offers over 50,000 images from the Science Museum (London), the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television and the National Railway Museum.

Database of Scientific Illustrators  (DSI) includes over 12500 illustrators in natural history, medicine, technology and various sciences worldwide, c.1450-1950. Living illustrators excluded. 

NYPL Digital Gallery Pictures of Science: 700 Years of Scientific and Medical Illustration

Images from the History of Medicine (IHM) includes prints and photographs from the U.S. National Library of Medicine. (The IHM is contained within a larger NLM image database, so this link goes to a specialized search).

Images From the History of the Public Health Service: a Photographic Exhibit .

Wellcome Images

Films/Videos

To find films in  HOLLIS , search your topic keywords, then on the right side of the results screen, look at Resource Type and choose video/film.

To find books about films about your topic, search your topic keywords AND "in motion pictures" ​  (in "")

​Film Platform  offers numerous documentary films on a wide variety of subjects.  There are collections on several topics. Searches can be filtered by topic, country of production, and language. 

A list of general sources for images and film is available in the Library Research Guide for History and additional sources for the history of science in Library Research Guide for the History of Science .

Government documents often concern matters of science and health policy.  For Congressional documents, especially committee reports, see ProQuest Congressional (Harvard Login ). 

HathiTrust Digital Library . Each full text item is linked to a standard library catalog record, thus providing good metadata and subject terms. The catalog can be searched separately.  Many government documents are full text viewable.  Search US government department as Author.

More sources are listed in the Library Research Guide for History

For artifacts and other objects , the Historic Scientific Instruments Collection in the Science Center includes over 15,000 instruments, often with contemporary documentation, from 1450 through the 20th century worldwide.

Waywiser, online database of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments .

Warren Anatomical Museum of the Center for the History of Medicine in the Countway Library of Medicine has a rich collection of medical artifacts and specimens.

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

Fall 2020: these collections are closed during the pandemic. Check out their links above to see what they have available online.

Primary Source Terms :

You can limit HOLLIS  searches to your time period, but sources may be published later, such as a person's diary published posthumously. Find these with these special Subject terms.

You can use the following terms to search HOLLIS for primary sources:

• Correspondence
• Description and travel
• Manuscripts
• Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc.
• Personal narratives (refers to accounts of wars and diseases only)
• Pictorial works
• Sources (usually refers to collections of published primary sources)

Include these terms with your topical words in HOLLIS searches. For example: tuberculosis personal narratives

Online Primary Source Collections for the History of Science lists digital collections at Harvard and beyond by topic

Google Book Search, HathiTrust Digital Library and Internet Archives offer books and periodicals digitized from numerous libraries.  Only out-of-copyright, generally post-1923, books are fully viewable.  Each of these three digital libraries allows searching full text over their entire collections.

Google Book Search

HathiTrust Digital Library is a vast digital library of books an dperiodicals. Full text searchs can be limited by standard Subjetc term (as usd in HOOLIS) or by aiuthor or til=tle (useful for periodicals).  Many post-1925 out-of-copyright books, especially government documents, are full text viewable. You can search within copyright books to see what page your search term is on.

Internet Archive also offers a full text search which also can be limited by author, title, subject. For instructions see:  Details on searching HathiTrust and Internet Archive.

The Internet: Archive includes the Medical Heritage Library . Information about the Medical Heritage Library. Searchable full text. Includes:

• US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Office of Medical History Collection
• State Medical Society Journals    ----  A guide to digitized state medical society journals in the Medical Heritage Library
• Annual reports and other publications of the National Institutes of Health
• UK Medical Heritage Library

Biodiversity Heritage Library

The Online Books Page arranges electronic texts by Library of Congress call numbers and is searchable (but not full text searchable).  Includes books not in Google Books, HathiTrust, or Internet Archive. Has many other useful features.

Contagion: Historical Views of Diseases and Epidemics (1493-1922) provides digitized historical, manuscript, and image resources selected from Harvard University libraries and archives.

Expeditions and Discoveries (1626-1953) features nine expeditions in anthropology and archaeology, astronomy, botany, and oceanography in which Harvard University played a significant role. Includes manuscripts and records, published materials, visual works, and maps from 14 Harvard repositories.

Defining Gender Online: Five Centuries of Advice Literature for Men and Women (1450-1910).

Twentieth Century Advice Literature: North American Guides on Race, Sex, Gender, and the Family.

Finding Primary Sources Online  offers methods for finding digital libraries and digital collections on the open Web   and for finding Digital Libraries/Collections by Region or Language .

Many more general History digital libraries and collections: Library Research Guide for History

More History of Science digital libraries: Library Research Guide for the History of Science .

There may already be a detailed list of sources (a bibliography) for your topic.

For instance:

A bibliography of eugenics , by Samuel J. Holmes ... Berkeley, Calif., University of California press, 1924, 514 p. ( University of California publications in zoology . vol. XXV)  Full text online .

Look for specialized subject bibliographies in HOLLIS Catalog . Example .   WorldCat can do similar searches in the Subject Keyword field for non-Harvard holdings.

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What is a Primary Source? A Key to Trustworthy Research.

Finding datasets of credible and well-conducted research requires a understanding deep of primary sources. In this article we aim to explore the -and– outs of primary sources their critical role in various disciplines and their increasing relevance in the spacedigital. Whether you’re knee-in deep in your college admissions studies or just starting out secondary sources are a part vital of writing that can greatly improve the and validity of your essays.

We will delve into effective strategies for locating these resourcesprimary as well as practical techniques to produce compelling work using them. Ready to explore the terrain academic with newfound mastery? Around you be prepared to discover how the unassuming tool offered by Undetectable.ai an AI Humanizer can make your rigorous academic essays come alive with a touchhuman enhancing their appeal. Let’s embark on a journey conceptual together.

Understanding Primary Sources: The Foundation of Academic Research

In matters of academic research primary sources hold a position central. These records original are usually created at the is occurring or by someone with direct personal knowledge of the issue. The advisors serve as to elicit arguments providing firsthand testimonials or direct evidence concerning a or event. Understanding the and uses of these paves are for trustworthy irrefutable research.

Decoding Primary Sources: Unraveling the Truth for Scholarly Research

Editing primary sources allows scholars to unravel correlations that lie within direct analysis of original data, historic records or artifacts. This not only bolsters the research overall but also enriches the understanding of the matter, providing a more holistic view. This a aspect fundamental of scholarly research involves rigorous examination of materials such as historical documents, personal diaries or raw scientific data. Through methodical deciphering of primary sources forensic researchers can untangle loosely intertwined narratives examine unfiltered narratives and craft robust academic arguments supported by firsthand evidence.

Role of Primary Sources in Building Robust Research Foundations

Primary sources serve as the part underlying of academic research. Through primary sources biomedical scholars can present evidence and significantly strengthen their arguments thereby creating a research robust foundation. Despite any claimsfactual they offer direct insight and first-hand historical accounts imparting credibility to research work in various disciplines like history, maritime culture performing arts. From historical documents and legal texts to autobiographies published research case reports and original creative works these fuel critical analysis spur innovative ideas and contribute to more accurate interpretations in academic research.

First-hand Evidence: The Power of Primary Sources in Academic Investigation

Primary sources have chosen to dramatically elevate the of academic research by providing first-hand quantitative information about accounts related topic to your of study. By analysis of diaries, fan letters, recorded speeches, written interviews archive photographs or original creative works you get raw information straight from the ‘s mouth. The data original is often unfiltered granting you unique insights into the of your investigation. This creates richer more nuanced understanding and enables you to hit the -button with highly accurate narrations maintaining academic integrity.

Original Records: The Significance of Primary Sources in Trustworthy Research

Primary sources serve as the linchpin for trustworthy, well-founded academic research. By their nature, they offer firsthand accounts and original records of events, phenomena, and periods under investigation. Such rich, unaltered information is invaluable in enhancing the credibility of academic arguments, offering insights that are undiluted by interpretation or subjective analysis. The importance of primary sources extends to not only establishing and strengthening the thesis statement but also adding historical context and depth to the study. A credible source for primary documents can be found at the  National Archives , which hosts a treasure trove of original records that can reliably anchor research studies. Leveraging these resources can enable researchers to conduct unbiased exploration, data substantiation, and produce authentic, evidence-supported conclusions. Thus, primary sources serve as the backbone to research integrity, reinforcing the commitment to factual accuracy and scholarly rigor.

Types of Primary Documents: The Core of Your College Papers

Understanding the types different of primary sources used in academic papers is key to effective research and persuasive writing. Primary sources differ disciplinesvary across but will typically include historical documents, legal documents, statistical data tangible pieces of creative writing and artifacts. They add authenticity to our evidence and provide evidence that supports our claims. We will delve into the primary sources and how they fortify your college science papers.

Infusing Historical Authenticity: Utilizing Historical Documents in Your Research

Historical documents serve as invaluable instruments for unveiling authentic truths in academic scholarship. Through effectively incorporating such resources contemporary researchers can infuse a degree greater of historical authenticity into their work enabling them to construct more credible arguments. These including ancient manuscripts, surviving diaries, unpublished letters or public records can provide critical historical accounts to infer historical events. An discerning eye and a perspective critical are key to extracting these insightsvaluable. So direct engagements with these documents primary are indispensable to advancing our understanding of causation and supporting our findings through robust empirical evidence.

Statistical Backing: Incorporating Data and Surveys as Primary Sources

Incorporating scientific data into your academic research can provide strong factual evidence to support your claims. Through deriving numerical data from population genetic samples prospective surveys validate hypotheses with statistical significance while data model sets offer insights into research ‘s trends, causal correlations and patterns. They represent reliable primary sources predominantly used in the sciencessocial, economic studies and health management professions. Managing resources such as National statistical databases global health insurance data and government public survey web archives can yield wealth of valuable statistical information for your academic endeavors. Researchers often use them to classify phenomena making their findings more objective.

Creative Insights: Utilizing Literature and Arts as Primary Sources

Academic research frequently draws upon primary sources in writing for creative insights offering an exploration immersive of social, cultural, political or personal perspectives. Whether it’s a play Shakespearean contributing to a Elizabethan culture or a Picasso painting for an into Cubism literature serve as rich multidimensional resources that enhance academic insights fostering a understanding deeper of complex themes in your scholarly investigations. Reading original works of fiction, writing poems, song songs, matte paintings and sculptures can provide firsthand accounts of the people they depict.

Jurisdictional Evidence: The Role of Legal Documents in Academic Writing

Legal documents hold substantial importance in academic writing, particularly when the research pertains to law, history, criminal justice, or social studies. These invaluable primary sources, such as legislation, court records, treaties, or constitutional provisions, provide unfiltered insight into historical contexts, societal norms, and how legal frameworks have evolved. For instance, if you’re studying or writing about inheritance laws or probate procedures, the original legal texts like  Pennsylvania’s Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code  can offer precise, firsthand understanding. Citing such official legislation not only increases the credibility of your writing but also provides the factual foundation upon which persuasive, valid arguments can be built. It’s crucial to pay attention to the correct citation format for legal documents in academic papers, adhering to the specific style guide recommended by your institution or discipline. By leveraging jurisdictional evidence, you can enrich your research, strengthen your arguments, and ultimately enhance your scholarly contribution.

A Library of Evidence: Uncovering Primary Sources in History

Delve into the body vast of historical evidence by utilizing primary sources to establish factual accounts of past events. These embody academic research in reality grounding argumentation and providing solid bases for your hypotheses. Primary sources in history are invaluable as they provide first-hand contextual knowledge about the or incident under investigation. By properly identifying primary sources prospective students can develop a understanding rich of historical happenings beyond the in textbooks.

Pillars of the Past: Identifying Primary Historical Sources

During any studyhistorical identifying primary sources is indelibly important. Whether it’s perusing through ancient manuscripts decoding handwritten letters or investigating early photographs these accounts firsthand provide a connection tangible to humanity enriching our understanding of historical events. These documentsoriginal dubbed as the ‘pillars of enlightenment contain direct insights from the period under study making them indispensable components of credible academic research. Proficiency in distinguishing relevant information from such primary sources helps us understand the of history more authentically and allows us to interrogate them from multiple perspectives.

Reliving History: Evaluating the Credibility of Primary Sources

Monitoring documentation of primary sources is a step critical in historical research. Building credible sources is fundamental to constructing accurate portrayals of historical events and understanding cultural shifts and cultural contexts. It involves scientifically assessing authenticity of documents, literary artifacts, historical diaries, scholarly correspondence, archive photographs and oral histories. Ultimately appraising primary sources allows us to relive history properly promoting robust scholarship and promoting a connection deeper with past events. This strengthens all of your arguments and ensures that those gained from analyzing these materials primary are trustworthy.

From Archives to Academics: The Role of Primary Sources in Historical Research

Primary archives act as silent witnesses of humanity enabling historical researchers to the delve into and milieu of bygone eras. From examining the of letters that bring personal narratives to life and texts poring over that reveal hidden truths the of primary sources enhances the aspect deep of historical research. By unearthing information from archives original documents and artifacts Smithsonian historians gain direct insights into past events, societal norms and dramatic shifts in human history. These help in generating credible inferences making historical research a journey riveting into the rather than a recounting mere of events.

Behind the Pages: Decoding Context from Historical Primary Sources

Decoding context from historical primary sources is a crucial part of understanding past events in their true light. These documents, often layered with complex narratives, require careful analysis and evaluation. A prime example of this is the Zimmerman Telegram, an intriguing piece of history that played a pivotal role in altering the course of World War I. By delving into this coded telegram and its implications, historians and students alike can gain invaluable insights into the geopolitical dynamics of the time. Dissecting primary sources like these not only enhances research capabilities but also provides a nuanced understanding of history beyond textbook knowledge. It is crucial for students to employ analytical skills and critical thinking when interpreting such historical documents. Visit  National Archives  to explore a wealth of similar resources and gain in-depth knowledge about the intricate layers hidden behind the pages of history.

Subject-Specific Primary Sources: Exploring the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities

Funding monetary sources vary greatly subject based on matter reflecting the diversity vast of disciplines in academia. These add depth to learning by providing firsthand accounts or original data allowing students to analyse, help interpret and draw new insight from them. From the Arts to the Sciences and Humanities in general utilizing appropriate primary sources can strengthen research outcomes outcomes and ensure convergence of perspectives.

The Power of Artworks: Utilizing Visual Primary Sources in Art Research

Role of artworks as primary materials in art museum research cannot be underestimated. By meticulously studying these primary sources the researchers can reconstruct historical, social and cultural context going beyond mere aesthetic appreciation. Artworks, whether visual, performance or literary are often the of the ‘s perspective ‘s contemporary issues making them important pieces of information for researchers. Consequently, understanding symbolism, illustrating technique and the ‘s background in illustration is imperative for students studying art in history or visual arts encouraging thought-provoking analyses of these primary sources.

Science at Its Source: Leveraging Laboratory Reports and Experimental Data

In fields of scientific research leveraging laboratory statistical reports and experimental data science basis serves as of establishing credibility. Incorporating observational data raw figures from laboratory lab experiments or events and laboratory recorded in notebooks amplify the of your academic research. These sources primary offer an firsthand view on scientific phenomena under investigation. Through understanding and showcasing the processes intricate involved in generating these sourcesprimary researchers can provide a more holistic account of their scientific work thus strengthening the of scientific knowledge.

Sourcing Voices of the Past: Diary Entries and Letters as Primary Resources in Humanities

Engaging with primary sources like diary entries and personal letters brings deeper dimensions to this research. These sources primary contain intimate perspectives of individuals that can elucidate societal norms, cultural attitudes and personal experiences during specific periods. These artifacts literary serve as unfiltered connections to scholars offering first-person viewing viewpoints on historical phenomena. Thus by incorporating voices from the diariesCatholic researchers can glean potentially nuanced insights contributing to more comprehensive interpretations of historical narratives.

Unlocking Meaning: The Importance of Original Texts in Literature Studies

In literature studies, original texts are paramount for unlocking multiple layers of meaning and providing insights into cultural, historical, and societal contexts. As scholarly detectives, literature students must delve into the heart of the original works, extracting intricate themes, dissecting complex characters, and exploring the author’s stylistic choices. For instance, accessing the likes of  the Rosetta Stone  doesn’t just expose students to ancient Egyptian language; it also offers in-depth perspectives on cultural artifacts and historical ideologies. These genre-defining texts don’t merely exist within the boundary of entertainment; they echo the values and norms of their time, acting as social commentaries and offering critical exploration of human experiences. Therefore, studying literature from original texts not only enhances interpretative skills but also refines critical thinking, enriching contextual understanding and contributing to comprehensive literary analysis.

Primary Sources in the Digital Age: Leveraging Online Resources for College Studies

Things have changed not only our lives but also when we do research. Moreover online resources have greatly expanded our capability to access a array vast of primary sources. Navigating your online world can be an processoverwhelming especially if you’re not sure where to start. Let’s explore some of these online resources and how you can leverage them for your academic career. If you know where to look and how to use tools you can enhance your research providing richer insights for your college dissertation research.

Exploring Digitalized Libraries: The New Path to Primary Source Material

The digitalized libraries have transformed the research academic landscape, offering a accessible path to primary source reference material. These freely accessible resources can turn tides of your research to work allowing you to buttress your arguments with factual firsthand accounts. These treasure digital houses are teeming with unique content ranging from historical documents high-resolution composite images of artifacts, academic journals, rare books and much more. Moreover digital libraries like the Library of Congress, Project Gutenberg and Google Books employing advanced search comprehension algorithms can easily connect you to the most relevant primary sources greatly enhancing the and efficiency of your research collection process.

Academic Databases and Journals: Unraveling a Wealth of Online Primary Sources

Diving into academic repositories and scholarly articles online uncovers a trove of primary sources for academic research. resources Tapping into such as JSTOR, ScienceDirect or Google Scholar you can uncover relevant information that can greatly enhance knowledge, promote credibility and integrity of your academic work. These platforms online host countless research analysis papers, scientific studies and firsthand accounts from professionals from various disciplines providing students with authentic reliable data for their studies. The revolution online has not only streamlined access but has also broadened understanding of obtainable primary sources in the agedigital.

Web Archiving & Digital Collections: A Goldmine of Online Primary Evidence

In the agedigital web archive archiving and digital collections have treasure emerged as troves of primary data opening up a swath vast of resources for academic research and historical investigations. Understanding how to effectively resolve controversies is key to broadening research scope horizons and enhancing college undergraduate studies making our forays into online research more fruitful. Whether you’re analyzing social trends through online archives exploring digital libraries for historical manuscripts or scouring academic databases for original journal page entries they offer unparalleled access to authentic data.

Effective Search Strategies: Maximize Efficiency in Locating Online Primary Sources

Mastering the skill of online research is pivotal for accessing scholarly primary sources. With the digital world offering a goldmine of information, effective search strategies can amplify your ability to locate and utilize primary sources rapidly and accurately. Search engine mastery, knowledge of reliable databases and academic journals, and honing Boolean operators all come into play in online search efficiency. Also, understanding the importance of keywords and skillful implementation can elevate your search efforts, leading to a more focused and productive collection of sources. A good practice for students and academic professionals is exploring databases like PubMed Central, where they can access a broad range of  free, reputable, and peer-reviewed articles . Learning to navigate these resources efficiently can considerably enhance your academic research, offering rich, primary resources for your college studies.

Finding Authentic Information: Top Strategies for Locating Primary Sources

Finding trustworthy information can often be nations challenging in where deception are common. But how does one obtain these primary sources? When conducting academic research secondary sources are an tool important for obtaining original authentic data. This will reveal some strategies top for hunting down and identifying primary contributors in various fields helping us produce research that is not only original but also reliable.

Navigating Library Catalogs for Primary Sources

Clearly navigating library content catalogs, both offline is a highly effective method in uncovering relevant primary sources for your research. It’s important to be proficient in card reader catalog ization systems or online database library search automation functions as well as understanding how materials are categorized appropriately according to subject matter, copyright author or time elapsed period. These collections vast house priceless libraries of historical documents unpublished transcripts of interviews and other original pieces of literature that can substantially enhance that of your academic work. This approach granular to library quality research ensures that you use the spectrum full of readily available resources for more comprehensive and fact-based research.

Online Databases: An Invaluable Resource for Primary Materials

With advancements of modern technology forensic researchers have a tool powerful at their disposal: online databases. Tools like JSTOR, EBSCO and ProQuest host vast portfolios of scholarly articles, text books and other primary sources offering a resource rich for academic exploration. treasure Serving as troves of primary materials these streamline access to collections of information from historical archives to scientific journals. Harnessing these databases online not only facilitates fact-driven checking but also advances comprehensive research equipping scholars with opportunity to delve deeper into their subject matter and substantiate their points with authentic original evidence.

The importance of Networking in Academic Research for Primary Information

For academic research informal networking holds a role vital in unearthing primary knowledge. This can often access lead to to previously undocumented primary sources to obtaining such resources. conferencesParticipating in, workshops and seminars not only broadens your understanding of your research subject field but also provides opportunities to collaborate with fellow researchers. Furthermore fostering professional relationships and your networking within scientific community can significantly aid your hunt for credible primary sources taking your research to a plane higher of authenticity. Sometimes face-to-face technical discussions can reveal databases, physical databases, gene collections or experimental data unavailable to participants.

Unearthing Primary Sources in the Field: Ethnography and Interviews

Primary sources can be brought to life through direct engagement in the field, like through ethnographic studies and interviews. Herein, the researcher directly interacts with participants, enabling them to access raw, unfiltered information from the individuals who have experienced the phenomenon firsthand. Ethnography, as a research method, involves an in-depth investigation of a culture or social group from an insider’s perspective, extracting richly contextual and intimately personal primary data. Interviews, on the other hand, are an effective approach to capture the experiences and perspectives of individuals directly involved in the event or topic being studied. For those exploring history or anthropology, ethnographic methods and oral histories hold the key to unearthing authentic primary evidence. To gain a deeper understanding of the differences and utilities of these field methods, you may visit this  comparative study of ethnography and oral history . It’s essential to remember that the fieldwork strategy chosen should optimize accuracy, credibility, and thoroughness of the data collected for your academic research.

Writing with Primary Sources: The Art of Crafting Convincing Academic Essays

Writing with primary sources is critical to generating well-grounded compelling academic essays. Utilizing them effectively will make your arguments more persuasive and your reasoning more robust. These firsthand accounts of events allow for a more credible and in-depth analytical understanding of my research doctoral project. It is one that requires practice but once honed can greatly enhance mastery of your academic writing.

Navigating Direct Evidence: How to Effectively Incorporate Primary Sources in Your Writing

Clearly incorporating primary sources into your academic papers entails much more than mere citation. That is to seamlessly weave these historical documents authentic eyewitness testimony accounts or raw scientific data into your narrative. Tactful navigation through the of direct evidence requires appreciation of it ‘s context and its relevance to your research. This enhances understanding of your arguments providing solid grounding and enriching the narrative overall structure of your academic essay. By carefully interpreting these elementsfoundational you transform your writing into a dialogue vibrant between worlds.

The Art of Analysis: Critically Interpreting Primary Sources in Academic Essays

When engaging in academic writing understanding the underlying analysis is crucial particularly when interpreting primary sources. This involves critically examining the -hand historical record or raw data, discerning context establishing validity and potential bias in historical documents or statistical data and extracting valuable insights to support your academic investigation. Sophisticated analysis not only strengthens your claim but provides a understanding deeper of a research or topic. Likewise obligation to critically interpret primary sources is a competency fundamental in scholarly writing promoting deeply nuanced discussions. Utilizing critical analysis using techniques biomedical scholars can convert original sources into compelling evidence reinforcing the and quality of their research in academic publications.

Citations and References: Ensuring Credibility when Using Primary Sources

Knowing how to cite primary sources can make a difference big in the of your academic life. Whether cited ancient manuscripts, historical documentation, statistical data, legal documents or artwork historical citation adhering to standards is essential. By properly using citation reporting styles like APA, MLA or Chicago style you can ensure that your use of primary sources is transparent and it allows readers to verify authenticity of the. Moreover managing your archives diligently prevents accusations of plagiarism bolstering your scientific integrity while acknowledging the authors original and their precious contributions to your subject to matter.

Balancing Act: Integrating Primary and Secondary Sources for a Comprehensive Essay

An integral aspect of successful academic writing lies in the strategic integration of both primary and secondary sources. This delicate balance acts as one of the crucial academic writing skills to master for a comprehensive and convincing essay. Primary and secondary sources contribute in their unique ways; the primary sources offer a direct peek into the original data or first-hand accounts, while secondary sources provide context, analysis, and interpretation. The key is effectively intertwining these two types of sources to create a well-researched and authentic narrative. A comprehensive guide on integrating sources can be accessed  here . An astute synthesis of these resources can significantly enrich your thesis, ensuring it is well-evidenced, substantially analogue, and enriched with diverse perspectives. Remember, the ultimate goal is to create a harmonious amalgamation of first-hand accounts and scholarly commentaries that complement each other and contribute to a well-rounded, academically robust argument.

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If you’re searching for a more natural-sounding style in your academic papers AI-based tools can help. Along with researching primary sources a writing in that them resonates with is key to producing effective academic pieces. Among them is Undetectable.ai’s AI Humanizer that adds elements of human touch to your writing thus improving readability and boosting reader emotional engagement.

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Leverage the Power of AI: Improving the Readability of Your Essays

Leveraging the of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can revolutionize all of your articles, boosting clarity, promoting coherence and engagement. These incorporate algorithms that can spot writing reading habits spot grammar and mistakes and complex sentences enhancing readability and eliminating confusing language. With advanced technology such as AI-based proofreading tools amplifying algorithms you can refine your draft into a highly comprehensible piece. As such relying on AI will dramatically improve your essay essay writing skills skills making your work more reader-friendly. They can also guide you to use appropriate research and language properly frame powerful thesis prepared statements and generate solid academic discourse.

Mastering the Art of Academic Writing: The Role of AI in Adding a Human Touch

In mastering fundamentals of academic writing implementing advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) offers substantial benefits one of which is adding a touch personal to your content. These tools intelligent can interpret primary sources in content that resonates more closely with human communication delivery styles giving academic publications a blend unique of professionalism. Today’s AI writing aid learning tools like Undetectable.ai’s AI Humanizer are designed to enhance usability of your content making it more relatable and readersengaging to. By leveraging AI in educational writing you’re revolutionizing your writing storytelling style fostering more reader engagement engagement and giving your content a more natural feel.

Revolutionize Your Writing Process: Boosting Reader Engagement with AI Tools

As we venture further into the digital age, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in academic writing processes is growing exponentially. Revolutionizing the way we write, AI tools can assist students and researchers in enhancing their writing skills and boosting reader engagement. By providing suggestions for style, tone, and linguistic variations, these tools can help craft an academic essay that’s not only insightful but also compelling to read. The critical aspect of such tools is their ability to learn and adapt, continuously improving their suggestions to align with the writer’s unique style. AI furthermore helps eliminate writer’s block, offering ideas and prompts that can inspire creativity and improve productivity. One such invaluable tool is the  AI Humanizer  from Undetectable.ai, which seamlessly humanizes text, making it more relatable and engaging for readers. Harnessing the power of AI to improve and accelerate your writing process will undoubtedly take your academic essays to new heights.

Frequently Asked Questions About Primary Sources

What exactly are primary sources?

Primary sources are immediate first-hand witness accounts of that from people who had a connection direct with him. They are considered the materials raw of history and original records created as the events historical occurred or well after events in the preceding memoirs oral histories and autobiographies.

Why are primary sources important?

External sources are important as they provide a window direct into this. secondary sources hence can enhance the experience by allowing participants to get closer to what they study. They offer an look inside into different aspects of life that secondary sources do not include.

What are examples of primary sources?

Primary sources can be anything from personal letters, family diaries, official documents, official speeches and interviews to works of art, folk music, still photographs and sculptures. They also include research reference papers published in academic journals which are primary sources in the underlying scientific research.

How do I find primary sources for my research?

Writing primary sources should depend subject on your matter. In biomedical research academic journal ed databases are often the stopfirst. During historical research, scholarly libraries, historic archives, historical museums and historical societies can be great places to find primary materials. Furthermore, increasingly, many primary sources are being digitized and can be found here.

How can I tell if a source is primary or secondary?

Historically speaking a source primary is an workoriginal not interpretation of something. On the handother secondary sources analyze, systematically interpret, examine or summarize texts from primary sources. If it offers direct empirical evidence about something it’s a sourceprimary. So, for instance a manuscript presenting new findings is a sourceprimary while a paper that interprets other researcher’s work is a sourcesecondary.

How can Undetectable.ai’s AI Humanizer make my academic essays appear more human?

Undetectable.ai’s AI Humanizer is built to offer a touch personal in writing. It intuitively understands all of nature thus giving it a more natural tone. It uses artificial intelligence to make your text read as if a read it enhancing readability. This will make your writing stand out engage your audience better and provide an reading improved experience.

What types of writing can be enhanced with the AI Humanizer from Undetectable.ai?

Nearly any given text can be improved by using Undetectable.ai’s AI Humanizer. It can be used to make your text appear more human-written by adding some language natural nuances that simply it typing on might not capture. It includes academic research, papers, keynote lectures, research reports and articles. This can help you communicate your academic findings in a format feels more engaging to your readers.

Is using an AI tool like Undetectable.ai’s AI Humanizer considered plagiarism?

No use Undetectable.ai’s AI Humanizer isn’t considering plagiarism. It simply adds a touch personal to your own work enhancing your pre-recorded content by making it sound more natural. Reddit doesn’t create content on its own or reuse any existing already content. Always remember what you input for the AI Humanizer to work with should be original to you.

Conclusion: Empowering Your Academic Research with Primary Sources and AI Technology

To sum up secondary sources provide invaluable building blocks for credible well-rounded academic research. Navigating tons of data might seem pretty daunting but it doesn’t have to be. They offer a account detailed of events allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of your study ‘s environment. With the strategies right for locating primary sources you can enrich your research and elevate the of your academic papers be it for a textbook or a paper scientific.

Incorporating primary sources into your writing, however, is only part of crafting a academic dissertation. Here is where Undetectable.ai’s AI Humanizer playcame into. How you distribute your research matters to. By transforming your academic work into a readermore -friendly format Undetectable.ai helps you communicate your findings in something that readersresonates with potentially enhancing their engagement of your work.

So, up your academic game today. Invest the time to understand, locate, and analyze primary sources. And don’t forget to add that human touch to your essays with Undetectable.ai’s AI Humanizer. Your grades might just thank you for it.

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Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

Search catalog, what are the differences.

Sources of information or evidence are often categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary material. These classifications are based on the originality of the material and the proximity of the source or origin. This informs the reader as to whether the author is reporting information that is first hand or is conveying the experiences and opinions of others which is considered second hand. Determining if a source is primary, secondary or tertiary can be tricky. Below you will find a description of the three categories of information and examples to help you make a determination.

Primary Sources

These sources are records of events or evidence as they are first described or actually happened without any interpretation or commentary. It is information that is shown for the first time or original materials on which other research is based.  Primary sources display original thinking, report on new discoveries, or share fresh information.

Secondary Sources

These sources offer an analysis or restatement of primary sources. They often try to describe or explain primary sources. They tend to be works which summarize, interpret, reorganize, or otherwise provide an added value to a primary source.

Tertiary Sources

These are sources that index, abstract, organize, compile, or digest other sources. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered tertiary sources when their chief purpose is to list, summarize or simply repackage ideas or other information. Tertiary sources are usually not credited to a particular author.

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Primary research or a primary study refers to a research article that is an author’s original research that is almost always published in a peer-reviewed journal. A primary study reports on the details, methods and results of a research study. These articles often have a standard structure of a format called IMRAD, referring to sections of an article: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. Primary research studies will start with a review of the previous literature, however, the rest of the article will focus on the authors’ original research. Literature reviews can be published in peer-reviewed journals, however, they are not primary research.

Primary studies are part of primary sources but should not be mistaken for primary documents. Primary documents are usually original sources such as a letter, a diary, a speech or an autobiography. They are a first person view of an event or a period. Typically, if you are a Humanities major, you will be asked to find primary documents for your paper however, if you are in Social Sciences or the Sciences you are most likely going to be asked to find primary research studies. If you are unsure, ask your professor or a librarian for help.

A primary research or study is an empirical research that is published in peer-reviewed journals. Some ways of recognizing whether an article is a primary research article when searching a database:

1. The abstract includes a research question or a hypothesis,  methods and results.

2. Studies can have tables and charts representing data findings.

3. The article includes a section for "methods” or “methodology” and "results".

4. Discussion section indicates findings and discusses limitations of the research study, and suggests further research.

5. Check the reference section because it will refer you to the studies and works that were consulted. You can use this section to find other studies on that particular topic.

The following are not to be confused with primary research articles:

- Literature reviews

- Meta-analyses or systematic reviews (these studies make conclusions based on research on many other studies)

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What is a primary source? And why are primary sources important?

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Welcome to the world of primary sources, where history comes to life through the words, images, and artifacts left behind by those who witnessed and participated in past events. Primary sources are the raw materials of history, providing us with direct access to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of people from different times and places. Whether it's a letter written by a soldier on the front lines of a war, a diary entry by a young woman during a pivotal moment in history, or a painting that captures the spirit of a particular era, primary sources offer us a unique window into the past. By exploring these sources, we can gain a deeper understanding of the world that came before us and connect with the human experiences that have shaped our present. Let’s look at exactly what is a primary source, primary source examples, the difference between primary and secondary sources, and more.

Students must have the ability to analyze their sources and learn how best to check their own biases, ask meaningful questions, and dive into lessons with both primary and secondary sources. With fake news and social media informing how modern students consume information, a primary/secondary source activity allows for a meaningful exploration of real items that illustrate the day-to-day lives of humanity.

Primary and secondary sources are all valid reference points for students as they conduct research, write papers, and figure out how they fit into the timeline of our human history. They differ in meaningful ways because primary sources are the closest to the person, place, or event, with the most intimate expression of information. From there, second and mixed sources still offer a meaningful look but diluted, with more layers of interpretation between.

Activities that feature primary and secondary sources allow students to make inferences, develop reasoned explanations, wrestle with contradictions, and compare multiple sources that represent differing points of view, confronting the complexity of the past.

Primary sources provide a first-hand record of events , created at the time of the event or from the era to which they relate. These items are created by individuals as a part of their day-to-day life, each one telling a piece of their story.

Not all lessons need to feature a primary source, but for those that do, it is important for students to recognize any preconceived notions, biases, or misunderstandings that they may bring to their own analysis. Interpreting the meaning of a primary source may be subjective; for instance, if a student does not have accurate information about the cause of a war or has strong personal opinions about a political movement, then primary sources from those events or eras may be seen through a certain lens.

Additionally, a primary source itself may be biased, like a piece of propaganda or newspaper article written with a particular slant. When consuming any type of information or media, students should be aware of how personal perspective, bias, and opinion may influence their learning.

It also helps if students can recognize the differences between primary and secondary sources. According to Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston (USA):

Primary Sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. Primary sources can include:

• Texts of laws and other original documents
• Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did
• Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote
• Original research
• Datasets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics

Secondary Sources, on the other hand, are one step removed from primary sources, though they often quote or otherwise use primary sources. They can cover the same topic, but add a layer of interpretation and analysis. Secondary sources can include:

• Most books about any topic
• Analysis or interpretation of data
• Scholarly or other articles about a topic, especially by people not directly involved
• Documentaries (though they often include photos or video portions that can be considered primary sources)

And while many assume that primary and secondary source activities are only used in history, sociology, or psychology classes, the exploration of these documents and items is beneficial across subject areas and grade levels.

As with most things, there are exceptions. In some cases, a primary source can be a secondary source (or vice versa) depending on its use and the topic at hand. An item or document that has distance from one subject may actually offer a more intimate or valuable look at a completely different topic. Bowling Green State University (USA) offers this example:

• A biology textbook would be considered a secondary source if in the field of biology, since it describes and interprets the science but makes no original contribution to it.
• On the other hand, if the topic is science education and the history of textbooks, textbooks could be used as primary sources to look at how they have changed over time.

To start, defining a primary source and highlighting the differences between that and a secondary source is incredibly helpful for students. Often, if a student can apply the phrase “first-hand” to a source, it generally falls under the primary category. And while neither source is necessarily deemed “a better choice” for learning, it’s understood a primary source may offer close-up, more intimate information about a issue, while a secondary source tackles topics from more of a distance.

For students of any age, asking questions to start the activity can help to shape how they relate to and gather information about the item at hand. For example, when reading a diary written by someone in France during the 1940s, a student may ask: “What does this diary entry say about the day-to-day lives of individuals during the 1940s?” Compare that to: “What does this diary entry tell us about how World War II was affecting different countries in Europe at this time in history?” While the primary source is the same, the questions asked by the student lead to varying conclusions and learnings.

A variety of notable universities and institutions around the world have primary source activities online for educator use, including:

• The University of Oxford (UK) provides primary source exercises that allow students to explore the primary sources that shape Oxford historians’ latest research and teaching.
• The Smithsonian Institute (USA) offers a lesson plan idea that explores primary sources and asks students to analyze and answer Document-Based Questions (DBQs).
• The University of Queensland (Australia) has a curated collection of archives on the history of Australia, as well as a variety of other resources.
• The Library of Congress (USA) has teacher’s guides and a primary source analysis tool available for educator use. There are also downloadable PDFs that cover steps on analyzing charts and graphs, manuscripts, maps, motion pictures, and beyond. There is also a portal with digital collections that are free to use and reuse , featuring a small sample of the Library’s millions of items, including musical scores, sound recordings, prints, and more.

The activities listed in this post can be adjusted accordingly for secondary or higher education. There is value for students at every age to gain an understanding of primary and secondary sources and how studying them can help us to better grasp historical and modern times.

In addition to exploring primary sources, Turnitin offers 5 Tips for integrating source credibility activities into your curriculum , including a Source Credibility Guide poster , student-facing resources, and myriad options for assessment. This information bridges the value of primary and secondary sources with the integral skills needed to glean the right information from them.

Instructors may also want to explicitly teach about fact vs opinion. This type of lesson allows students to gather a more accurate understanding of historical events as they pertain to current events and mindset. For instance, talk to students about articles on racism and how they read differently now than in the 1960s because of what was considered “fact” in that era. Lisa Macdonald offers a lesson plan for primary education that dives into fact vs opinion. This type of exercise can help build a solid groundwork for students in early learning stages as they learn how to build their research skills and interact with different types of sources online and in print.

Good scholarly practice is to cite the primary source over a secondary source, as it is closer to the actual person or event in history.

In MLA, the citation format for an online source is as follows:

• Name of the author, compiler, director, editor, narrator, performer, or translator of the work (when the site is also the publisher omit here and instead place in publisher section)
• Title of the work (italicized if the work is independent; in roman type and quotation marks if the work is part of a larger work)
• Title of the overall website (italicized), if distinct from item 2
• Other Contributors
• Version or edition used
• Publisher or sponsor of the site; omit if not available.
• Date of publication; omit if not available.
• DOI or URL (DOI is encouraged and “http://” is left out)
• Date of access (recommended for online resources)

Last name, First name. “Section of Website.” Title of the Website, Other Contributors, Version, Number, Name of publisher or sponsor, Date of publication, DOI or URL. Day Month Year of access. opt. URL.

Library of Congress. United States Government, 10 Feb 2012, www.loc.gov/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

Citing the primary source is ideal for research and works of scholarly writing. If the original work is unavailable or out of print, one can cite the secondary source, albeit sparingly.

For APA, citing secondary sources would look like this :

• In the reference list, provide an entry for the secondary source that you used.
• In the text, identify the primary source and write “as cited in” the secondary source that you used.
• If the year of publication of the primary source is known, also include it in the text citation.

For example, if you read a work by Lyon et al. (2014) in which Rabbitt (1982) was cited, and you were unable to read Rabbitt’s work yourself, cite Rabbitt’s work as the original source, followed by Lyon et al.’s work as the secondary source. Only Lyon et al.’s work appears in the reference list.

• (Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014)

If the year of the primary source is unknown, omit it from the in-text citation.

• Allport’s diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003)

Overall, there is profound value in teaching primary and secondary sources with students at any age and in every subject area. Secondary sources retell, analyze, or interpret events, usually at a distance of time or place, while primary sources provide a focused, intimate look at a topic. Citing both primary and secondary sources provides balanced viewpoints for students to analyze, developing necessary critical thinking skills. From there, students will be able to come to their own reasoned conclusions about the events and issues of history and our present day.

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Primary Sources - An Introductory Guide

What is a primary source.

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Where are Primary Sources?

Primary sources can be found in many different places, but the most common places to find them are libraries, archives, museums, and in the case of digitized primary sources, online databases.

Libraries carry many primary sources, especially newspapers (often on microfilm or in a database), memoirs, autobiographies, maps, audio and video materials, and published collections of letters, diaries, and interviews. Many of these can be found using the library's catalog. Many library materials can be borrowed.

Archives are collections of materials, often rare or unique, generated or created by individuals or organizations, that are of historical value and which are kept and preserved for the use of current and future communities. Many archives are located within libraries or museums, and are usually dedicated to a particular organization, geographic area, subject, or some combination of these. Materials that are collected by archives are often collections of papers, manuscripts, photographs, maps, drawings, sound or video records, objects, and many other formats, many of which are primary sources.

Museums collect, preserve, and display objects of historical or cultural significance. Primary sources found in museums include artifacts, art, maps, tablets, sound and video recordings, furniture, and realia.

Databases of primary sources often include sigitized or scanned primary sources that are related by subject, time period, or institutions that maintain the original sources. Several primary source databases can be found via the SHU Libraries website.

A primary source is a first-hand or contemporary account of an event or topic.

Primary sources are the most direct evidence of a time or event because they were created by people or things that were there at the time or event. These sources offer original thought and have not been modified by interpretation. Primary sources are original materials, regardless of format.

Examples of Primary Sources

• photographs
• sound and video recordings
• oral histories
• newspaper articles
• journal articles
• research studies
• autobiographies

Primary sources may be transformed from their original format into a newer one, such as when materials are published or digitized, but the contents are still primary. There are many primary sources available online today, but many more are still available in their original format, in archives, museums, libraries, historical sites, and elsewhere.

What is Not a Primary Source?

Secondary sources.

Secondary sources usually use primary sources and offer interpretation, analysis, or commentary. These resources often present primary source information with the addition of hindsight or historical perspective. Common examples include criticisms, histories, and magazine, journal, or newspaper articles written after the fact. Some secondary sources may also be considered primary or tertiary sources - the definition of this term is not set in stone.

Tertiary Sources

Tertiary sources are further developments of secondary sources, often summaries of information found in primary and secondary sources and collecting many sources together. Some examples of tertiary sources are encyclopedias and textbooks. Again, this term is not set in stone - some sources may be both secondary and tertiary.

Additional Primary & Secondary Source Sites

• What Makes A Primary Source A Primary Source - Library of Congress Teaching With The Library of Congress Informational Site.
• Primary Sources: A Research Guide - University of Massachusetts-Boston Description and examples of Primary vs. Secondary Sources
• What Is A Secondary Source? - Harvard University This guide serves as an introductory-level companion to the Harvard University Library Research Guide for the History of Science
• Primary Sources - Society of American Archivists Founded in 1936, the Society of American Archivists is North America's oldest and largest national professional association dedicated to the needs and interests of archives and archivists. SAA represents more than 6,200 professional archivists employed by governments, universities, businesses, libraries, and historical organizations nationally.

Find out more!

There are many good explanations and discussions of primary sources and how to use them. For more information, check out these sites:

Primary sources at Yale: What are primary sources?

ArchivesHub: Using Archives

University of Maryland Guide to Primary Sources

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Design Studies

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• Primary Sources and Primary Research
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• Primary Sources
• When to Use
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A primary source is " material that contains firsthand accounts of events and that was created contemporaneous to those events or later recalled by an eyewitness." - Society of American Archivists

Students can obtain primary sources using a variety of methods:

• Original research . Observations, experiments, surveys and interviews that you conduct can be considered primary sources. Photographs, videos, transcriptions of interviews, and other types of documentation that you gather are primary sources.
• Archives . Please see our Introduction to Archival Research to learn more. Feel free to make an appointment or ask your instructor to make an orientation for your class to learn more about archival research. 
• Historical newspapers . If you are researching a historical event and are seeking firsthand accounts or want to examine how it was treated in the press, use a historical newspaper .
• Interviews . In many library databases such as ProQuest Central , you can designate "Interview" as the Document Type when searching.
• Oral histories . You can find oral histories in archives and online (for example: Oral History Association ). Contact the Archives or Ask Us for more guidance.  See The New School Archives Oral History Collections .
• Websites, blogs, emails and social media . If you're researching how a company or government represents an issue, or people's opinions about an issue, then online content can be used as a primary source.
• Photographs and films . Please note that even documentary photographs and films can be edited or manipulated so that they present a point of view that does not accurately represent reality.  See our Images for Designers and Art Researchers Guide for image sources.

Secondary sources are books, periodical articles, and other resources that interpret, analyze, represent , or discuss . Many resources can be considered either a primary source or a secondary source, depending on the context.

• Primary Sources on the Web: Finding, Evaluating, Using Published by the American Library Association.

When would I use primary materials?

You would use primary materials in a research project after consulting all available secondary source materials (books, journal articles, documentaries, etc.) on a topic. The primary materials will enable you to build upon prior research and provide your own interpretation of events. Even if nothing has been written directly on your topic, background research will help you to understand the context in which events occurred or the time and place in which a person or a corporation's activities were set.

Topic: Social Media and Privacy

Primary Sources:

• Interview with user of social media, or manager of social media company
• Privacy policy or agreement by social media company
• Lawsuit filed against a social media company on the basis of privacy
• A screenshot of a social media post that exemplifies an aspect of privacy
• Survey or poll on social media attitudes
• Laws and government documents regarding social media and privacy

See our databases for:

• Archives & Manuscripts

Journal Indexes

• Art History Research net (AHRnet) This link opens in a new window Art History Research net (AHRnet), formerly known as Arts:Search, is an invaluable resource for research into the history of modern arts, architecture and design. AHRnet consists of three related and linked databases: ReVIEW which provides full text of arts journals, Arts + Architecture Profiles which includes biographical data on artists, architects and designers, and Design Abstracts Retrospective which contains abstracts of decorative, applied arts and design journals published between 1900-1986.
• JSTOR This link opens in a new window JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to create and maintain a trusted archive of important scholarly journals and to provide access to these journals as widely as possible. Content in JSTOR spans many disciplines, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. Recent articles are generally not available. JSTOR now includes access to the Artstor collection. Artstor is an extensive image resource for educational and scholarly use . Including high-quality images and visual media from top museums, archives, scholars, artists, and contributors around the world.
• ArchiveGrid Directory of archives in the United States.
• Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science.
• Architectural Digest Archives This link opens in a new window Famed international design magazine from its early issues in the 1920s through 2011, in a comprehensive cover-to-cover format.
• Art & Architecture Archive This link opens in a new window A full-text archive of magazines comprising key research material in the fields of art and architecture, dating from the late-nineteenth century to the twenty-first. Subjects covered include fine art, decorative arts, architecture, interior design, industrial design, and photography.
• Country Life Archive This link opens in a new window Spanning more than a century, Country Life Archive is an extensive collection, containing every page and issue of this historical British culture and lifestyle magazine from its first issue in 1897 (when it was known as Country Life Illustrated) to 2005.
• Harper's Bazaar Archive This link opens in a new window A searchable archive of the US (1867 to present) and UK (1930-2015) editions of Harper's Bazaar. The issues are reproduced as high-resolution color page images and supported by fully searchable text and article-level indexing. This resource chronicles over 150 years of American, British, and international fashion, culture, and society, supporting researchers by offering unique insights into the events, attitudes, and interests of the modern era.
• New Yorker This link opens in a new window Full content of issues from February 21, 1925 to present are digitized.
• Vogue Archive (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window A complete searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images. Every page, advertisement, cover and fold-out has been included, with rich indexing enabling you to find images by garment type, designer and brand names. The Vogue Archive preserves the work of the world's greatest fashion designers, stylists and photographers and is a unique record of American and international fashion, culture and society from the dawn of the modern era to the present day.
• Vogue Italia Archive This link opens in a new window A complete searchable archive of Vogue Italia, from the first issue in 1964 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images. Every page, advertisement, cover and fold-out has been included, with rich indexing enabling you to find images by garment type, designer and brand names. The Vogue Italia Archive preserves the work of the world's greatest fashion designers, stylists and photographers and is a unique record of American and international fashion, culture and society from the dawn of the modern era to the present day.
• Women's Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window This archive contains full or nearly full backfiles of 18 mass-market magazines for women, with coverage ranging from the late 19th century to 2005. Titles include Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, Essence, Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, Seventeen , and Town and Country .

Website and Digital Collections

• The New School Archives and Special Collections website Home to primary source materials documenting the history of all divisions of The New School. Search for and browse collections. View guides on primary source research, collections, and New School history. Access services. Contact us.
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Title Page Setup

A title page is required for all APA Style papers. There are both student and professional versions of the title page. Students should use the student version of the title page unless their instructor or institution has requested they use the professional version. APA provides a student title page guide (PDF, 199KB) to assist students in creating their title pages.

Student title page

The student title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation, course number and name for which the paper is being submitted, instructor name, assignment due date, and page number, as shown in this example.

Title page setup is covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 2.3 and the Concise Guide Section 1.6

Related handouts

• Student Title Page Guide (PDF, 263KB)
• Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF, 3MB)

Student papers do not include a running head unless requested by the instructor or institution.

Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the student title page.

Professional title page

The professional title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation(s), author note, running head, and page number, as shown in the following example.

Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the professional title page.

Have questions about buying, selling or renting during COVID-19? Learn more

Zillow Research aims to be the most open, authoritative source for timely and accurate housing data and unbiased insight.

• One-Third of Property Managers are Offering Concessions as Rental Market Cools

The Numbers

JULY 2024 U.S. Typical Home Value (Zillow Home Value Index)

$362,482 (2.8% YoY)

JULY 2024 U.S. Typical Rent (Zillow Observed Rent Index)

$2,070 (3.4% YOY)

July 2024 Change in New Listings

MAY 2024 Typical Mortgage Payment

• July 2024 Housing Starts: Housing Starts Fall, Single Family Starts At Lowest Level Since April 2023
• Support Growing for Middle Housing
• Sellers lose their advantage, but lower rates may revive market competition (July 2024 Market Report)
• Mortgage Rates Fell This Week On Exaggerated Recession Fears
• Mortgage Rates Fell This Week As Wage Inflation Moderates More Than Expected
• Luxury Home Values Are Rising Faster Than Typical Homes for the First Time in Years
• A $1 Million Starter Home is the Norm in 237 Cities
• Mortgage Rates Rebounded Slightly This Week Ahead of Key Inflation Report
• June 2024: New home Sales Fell Again Despite Easing Mortgage Rates

• Find Your Calm: Managing Stress & Anxiety

Stress Symptoms

What Is Stress?

Stress is your body's response to a challenging or demanding situation. When you feel stressed, your body releases certain hormones. Your hormones are chemical signals your body uses to tell your body systems what to do. The hormones your body releases when you're stressed get you ready to meet the challenge or demand in your environment. During the stress response, your body gets ready to flee or fight by increasing your heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure.

Not all stress is bad. In small doses, stress can help you accomplish tasks or prevent you from getting hurt. For example, stress is what makes you slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a suddenly stopped car in front of you. That's a good thing.

But people handle stressful situations differently. What stresses you out may be of little concern to someone else. 

Stress can be a short-term response to something that happens once or only a few times or a long-term response to something that keeps happening. Our bodies can usually handle short-term stress without long-term effects. But long-term or chronic stress can make you sick, both mentally and physically.

The first step to managing your stress is to know the symptoms. But recognizing stress symptoms may be harder than you think. Many of us are so used to feeling stressed that we may not know it until we get sick. Read on to learn more about the various symptoms you may have when you're stressed.

Difference between stress and distress

Stress is a normal reaction to challenges in your physical environment or in your perceptions of what's happening around you. Experts consider distress to be stress that is severe, prolonged, or both. Distress is when you feel you’re under more stress than you can handle.

Emotional Stress Symptoms

Mental symptoms of emotional stress include:

• Feeling more emotional than usual, especially feeling grumpy, teary, or angry
• Feeling anxious, overwhelmed, nervous, or on edge
• Feeling sad or depressed
• Feeling restless
• Trouble keeping track of or remembering things
• Trouble getting your work done, solving problems, making decisions, or concentrating 

Physical Stress Symptoms

Symptoms of stress that you might feel in your body include:

• Clenching your jaw and grinding your teeth
• Shoulder, neck, or back pain; general body aches, pains, and tense muscles
• Chest pain, increased heart rate, heaviness in your chest
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling more tired than usual (fatigue)
• Sleeping more or less than usual
• Upset stomach , including diarrhea , constipation , and nausea
• Loss of sexual desire and/or ability
• Getting sick more easily, such as getting colds and infections often

Respiratory distress

This is when you aren't getting enough oxygen or are having to work really hard to breathe. If you or a loved one has symptoms of respiratory distress, you need to call 911 and get to the ER as soon as possible. Signs include:

• Breathing faster than usual
• Color changes of your skin, mouth, lips, or fingernails. A blue color around your mouth, lips, or fingernails usually shows you aren't getting enough oxygen. Your skin may also look pale or gray.
• Grunting when you breath out
• A whistling with each breath (wheezing)
• Nose flaring
• Chest sinking below your neck or under your breastbone with each breath (retractions)
• Increased sweating, especially cold, clammy skin on your forehead
• Leaning forward while sitting to help take deeper breaths

Cognitive Stress Symptoms

Symptoms of stress that affect your mental performance include:

• Trouble getting your work done, solving problems, making decisions, or concentrating
• Feeling less commitment to your work
• Lack of motivation
• Negative thinking

Behavioral Stress Symptoms

Symptoms of behavioral stress include:

• Changes in your eating habits; losing or gaining weight
• Procrastinating and avoiding responsibilities
• Using alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to feel better
• Avoiding your friends and family; isolating yourself from others
• Failing to meet your deadlines
• Increased absences at school or work
• Doing your work more slowly
• Exercising less often

Symptoms of Chronic Stress

Chronic stress is when you experience stress over an extended time. This can have negative effects on your body and your mental state, and it can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, anxiety, and depression.

In general, the symptoms of chronic stress are the same as those for shorter-term stress. You may not have all these symptoms, but if you have more than three symptoms and they last for a few weeks, you may have chronic stress. Potential symptoms to look for include:

• Aches and pains
• Changes in your sleeping patterns, such as insomnia or sleepiness
• Changes in your social behavior, such as avoiding other people
• Changes in your emotional response to others
• Emotional withdrawal
• Low energy, fatigue
• Unfocused or cloudy thinking
• Changes in your appetite
• Increased alcohol or drug use
• Getting sick more often than usual

Is It Stress or Something Else?

You may be dealing with something more serious than day-to-day stress if you have symptoms over a period of time even though you've tried to cope using healthy mechanisms. Long-term stress is linked to number of mental health disorders, such as:

• Chronic stress
• Substance use disorder
• Disordered eating

It may be time to visit your doctor if you're struggling to cope with the stress in your life or you have mental health problems from long-term stress. They can help you figure out ways of coping in a healthy way or refer you to a mental health professional who can help you.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is mental health condition that you may have after you have or witness a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, accident, or violence. PTSD overwhelms your ability to cope with new stress. PTSD can lead to symptoms such as intrusive memories, avoidance behaviors, and hyperarousal. 

These symptoms can cause significant problems in your work or relationships. T alk to your doctor or a mental health professional if you've had or witnessed a traumatic event and have disturbing thoughts and feelings about it for more than a month, if your thoughts and feelings are severe, or if you feel like you're having trouble getting your life back on track.

What Are the Consequences of Long-Term Stress?

Ongoing, chronic stress can trigger or worsen many serious health problems, including:

• Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders
• Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease , high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and strokes
• Obesity and other eating disorders
• Menstrual problems
• Sexual dysfunction, such as impotence and premature ejaculation in men and loss of sexual desire in men and women
• Skin and hair problems , such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema, and permanent hair loss
• Gastrointestinal problems, such as GERD, gastritis , ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome

Help Is Available for Stress

Stress is a part of life. What matters most is how you handle it. The best thing you can do to prevent stress overload and the health consequences that come with it is to know your stress symptoms.

If you or a loved one is feeling overwhelmed by stress, talk to your doctor. Many symptoms of stress can also be signs of other health problems. Your doctor can evaluate your symptoms and rule out other conditions. If stress is to blame, your doctor can recommend a therapist or counselor to help you better handle your stress.

Stress Takeaways

Stress is your body's response to a challenging or demanding situation. It can affect you physically, mentally, and behaviorally, especially when you have chronic stress. Chronic stress is when you are stressed for an extended time. Chronic stress can make it more likely for you to develop other mental health disorders, such as anxiety or depression. It can also affect your heart health and digestive health. If you're stressed and having trouble coping, it may be time for you to see your doctor or a mental health professional.

Stress FAQs

What can extreme stress cause?

Extreme stress, especially if it's prolonged, can cause emotional distress. And stress from a traumatic event, which is usually extreme, can cause posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These are more serious cases of stress that overwhelm your ability to manage on your own. You may need to get a professional's help to get back on track. If you feel like you're having trouble managing your emotions, talk to your doctor. They can help you or direct you to someone who can help you.

Can stress make you throw up?

Yes, stress can make you throw up. Your digestive system is one of the many systems that stress can affect. In fact, you may have a whole range of other digestive symptoms, such as nausea, pain, and constipation or diarrhea. Not everyone has stress nausea or vomiting, but you may be more prone to it if you have a gastrointestinal condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or you have anxiety or depression.

You may be able to tell if you're stress vomiting if your episode passes when the stress goes away. If it doesn't, then your episode may be caused by something else. It's time to get checked out by your doctor if you have more than a couple of episodes or you can't figure out what's causing them.

Show Sources

Chu, B. Physiology, Stress Reaction , StatPearls Publishing, 2024.

American Psychological Association: "Stress effects on the body."

MedlinePlus: "Stress."

Mayo Clinic: "Stress management," "Emotional exhaustion: When your feelings feel overwhelming," "Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."

Cleveland Clinic: "Emotional Stress: Warning Signs, Management, When to Get Help," "Stress Nausea: Why It Happens and How To Deal. "

Johns Hopkins Medicine: "Signs of Respiratory Distress."

Helpguide.org: "Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes," "Understanding Stress."

Yale Medicine: "Chronic Stress."

Department of Health and Human Services: "Stress and Your Health."

American Institute of Stress: "Effects of Stress."

How to Feel Better in Less Than 15 Minutes

Need a quick pick-me-up? These simple steps can get you moving and boost your mood - fast!

Heart-Pounding, Stomach-Knotting: Stress and You

From knots in your stomach to headaches, heartburn and chronic health conditions, stress can lead to a variety of health issues.

Ways to Practice Self-Care

Self-care doesn't have to cost a lot. These simple steps can boost your mood and get you moving.

Natural Remedies to Alleviate Anxiety

These natural remedies can help ease your anxiety. Learn how they work - and when to see a doctor.

Is My Stress Level Too High?

From pain to digestive problems and more, the signs and symptoms of too much stress are easy to spot - once you know what to look for.

Likely identity of the remains of Bishop Teodomiro confirmed

Research reveals likely remains of discoverer of St James’ Tomb  

Until recently, little was known about Bishop Teodomiro, after St James the Apostle one of the most important figure associated with the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Now, a interdisciplinary investigation has conducted a comprehensive analysis of the potential remains of the bishop using advanced techniques. It provides new insights into the identity of the individual and the historical context of this significant discovery.  

Bone elements preserved from individual NCS200 in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in November 2019. The remains could only be examined for a few hours as a result of the transfer of the remains and the remodelling of the interior of the church .

© Patxi Pérez Ramallo

Between 820 and 830 CE, a hermit named Pelayo witnessed a shower of stars descending upon a field. Investigating, he discovered an ancient mausoleum and quickly informed the Bishop Teodomiro of Iria-Flavia (Padrón, Spain). After three days of meditation and fasting, the bishop declared that the mausoleum contained the remains of the apostle James and two of his disciples. This revelation was communicated to King Alfonso II of Asturias, who then commissioned the construction of a small church around the tomb. This event marked the beginning of the legend of the apostle Santiago’s tomb, recorded in the 12th century, and the Jacobean phenomenon, which continues to draw millions of pilgrims and visitors to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.

Despite the story’s significance, Bishop Teodomiro’s his existence was questioned until the latter half of the 20th century, when a tombstone marking his death in 847 CE was discovered in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Beneath this tombstone, remains were found and initially identified as belonging to an elderly male. However, a reexamination in the mid-1980s suggested the remains were of a woman, raising doubts about their connection to the bishop. Now, a international research team led by Patxi Pérez Ramallo of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in collaboration the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, the University of Stockholm and others has reexamined the remains, using osteological, stable isotope, radiocarbon, and ancient DNA analyses.

Mixed diet mix of marine and terrestrial sources

State of the place in November 2021 where the supposed remains of Bishop Teodomiro were found in a secondary position.  

The latest osteological investigation confirmed that the tomb contained the bones of a single individual, an adult male likely over 45 years old. Isotope analysis revealed a diet dominated by a mix of marine and terrestrial protein sources, slightly different from what might be expected of Christian monks of the time, who followed specific dietary rules. However, diet can reflect various factors, including religious practices and local traditions. Radiocarbon dating placed the sample within 673 to 820 cal. CE, consistent with a death in 847 CE. when the evidence for marine protein sources is taken into account.

Stable oxygen isotope analyses suggested the individual lived near the coast, aligning with the location of Iria Flavia. The archaeogenetics study, conducted at Stockholm University, revealed that the individual’s genetic profile deviated slightly from modern Europeans, showing closer affinities to Roman Iberians, southern Iberian Visigoths, and Iberian Islamic populations — consistent with someone living in Spain 1,200 years ago. These results also align with previous studies showing migration patterns in response to the Umayyad Caliphate's conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century.

While it is challenging to authenticate the identity of someone from 1,200 years ago, this study presents evidence consistent with Bishop Teodomiro's identity. The findings suggest that these remains could indeed belong to him, potentially making them the oldest identified historical figure in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe.

Other Interesting Articles

Ritual sacrifice at Chichén Itzá

Ancient Maya genomes reveal the practice of male twin sacrifice and the enduring genetic legacy of colonial-era epidemics

Origin and spread of malaria

Scientists reconstruct ancient genomes of the two most deadly malaria parasites, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum

Spring chicken

Humans started breeding chickens later than previously assumed

Ancient genomes reveal Down Syndrome in past societies

Burials show that children with Down Syndrome and Edwards Syndrome were recognized as members of their communities

Ancient relatives

New computational tool detects up to second to third degree cousins using ancient genomes

Research highlights 2023

Many publications by Max Planck scientists in 2023 were of great social relevance or met with a great media response. We have selected 12 articles to present you with an overview of some noteworthy research of the year

Ötzi: dark skin, bald head, Anatolian ancestry

Research team used advanced sequencing technology to analyze Ötzi’s genome to obtain a more accurate picture of the Iceman’s appearance and genetic origins

Family trees from the European Neolithic

Scientists gain insights into the social behaviour of a Neolithic community

Ancient DNA reveals the multiethnic structure of Mongolia’s first nomadic empire

The Xiongnu dominated the Eurasian steppes two millennia ago and foreshadowed the rise of the Mongol Empire

Beethoven’s genome

Scientists have sequenced the composer’s genome using five genetically matching hair locks

Ice age survivors

Large-scale genomic analysis documents the migrations of Ice Age hunter-gatherers over a period of 30,000 years

Marriage in Minoan Crete

New archaeogenetic data allow exciting insights into the social order of the Aegean Bronze Age

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Embracing Gen AI at Work

• H. James Wilson
• Paul R. Daugherty

The skills you need to succeed in the era of large language models

Today artificial intelligence can be harnessed by nearly anyone, using commands in everyday language instead of code. Soon it will transform more than 40% of all work activity, according to the authors’ research. In this new era of collaboration between humans and machines, the ability to leverage AI effectively will be critical to your professional success.

This article describes the three kinds of “fusion skills” you need to get the best results from gen AI. Intelligent interrogation involves instructing large language models to perform in ways that generate better outcomes—by, say, breaking processes down into steps or visualizing multiple potential paths to a solution. Judgment integration is about incorporating expert and ethical human discernment to make AI’s output more trustworthy, reliable, and accurate. It entails augmenting a model’s training sources with authoritative knowledge bases when necessary, keeping biases out of prompts, ensuring the privacy of any data used by the models, and scrutinizing suspect output. With reciprocal apprenticing, you tailor gen AI to your company’s specific business context by including rich organizational data and know-how into the commands you give it. As you become better at doing that, you yourself learn how to train the AI to tackle more-sophisticated challenges.

The AI revolution is already here. Learning these three skills will prepare you to thrive in it.

Generative artificial intelligence is expected to radically transform all kinds of jobs over the next few years. No longer the exclusive purview of technologists, AI can now be put to work by nearly anyone, using commands in everyday language instead of code. According to our research, most business functions and more than 40% of all U.S. work activity can be augmented, automated, or reinvented with gen AI. The changes are expected to have the largest impact on the legal, banking, insurance, and capital-market sectors—followed by retail, travel, health, and energy.

• H. James Wilson is the global managing director of technology research and thought leadership at Accenture Research. He is the coauthor, with Paul R. Daugherty, of Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI, New and Expanded Edition (HBR Press, 2024). hjameswilson
• Paul R. Daugherty is Accenture’s chief technology and innovation officer. He is the coauthor, with H. James Wilson, of Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI, New and Expanded Edition (HBR Press, 2024). pauldaugh

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Lake Erie walleye growth is driven by parents’ size, experience

Study finds legacy conditions more influential than recent temperature, food.

Parent size and the conditions in which actively spawning adults lived are the most influential factors affecting growth of Lake Erie walleye, a new study has found.

The findings surprised the scientists, who expected recent temperatures and food availability to have the highest impact on walleye growth. 

Cold winters and more sizable mothers were associated with faster growth in 3- to 5-year-old walleye offspring, the analysis showed, suggesting that warmer winters that come with climate change might lead to future generations of smaller fish. 

The findings also may mean ecological research in other species should take parental experiences into account to better understand animals’ present health, researchers say. 

“We really did think that the recent environment would have the strongest effects,” said lead author Zoe Almeida , who completed the work as a PhD student in evolution, ecology and organismal biology at The Ohio State University. “When you’re thinking about factors that affect growth, you think you have to account for temperature and prey. And in reality, those signals were so small themselves that they weren’t the strongest in any way. It was very surprising.” 

The study was published Aug. 13 in the Journal of Animal Ecology . 

The pace of growth is used in research as an indicator of overall health in many species – and is influenced not only by experiences, but also genetics. By any measure, the current status of the Lake Erie walleye population is considered quite robust, according to the 2024 status report from the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODNR-DOW). 

“The Lake Erie walleye population is doing fantastic right now,” said Almeida, now a senior research associate in natural resources and the environment at Cornell University . “But is there something going on behind the scenes we’re not noticing, or that we won’t notice until much later because we don’t realize its effects?” 

In pursuit of an answer, Almeida and colleagues made use of the wealth of walleye data generated by ODNR-DOW through its longtime monitoring of the Lake Erie population. 

The team analyzed five factors that can affect growth: recent environmental conditions, such as food supply and temperature; previous year traits, including growth; population density that could indicate the extent of competition early in life; early-life body size; and parental conditions and environmental experiences. 

The analysis was done on annual cohorts using data of walleye populations that were 3 to 5 years old in each year between 1982 and 2015, an age when they’re reaching maturity, but still growing rapidly. ODNR-DOW data also indicated the proportion of walleye that were spawning each year. Researchers explored relationships between these factors and cohort growth using statistical modeling. 

“We parsed all that out and what was affecting the growth on a cohort level was really what happened to the parents,” Almeida said. “The size composition and winters they experienced determined whether or not the cohort was faster growing or slower growing than typical in the year before in individuals 3 to 5 years old.” 

Meanwhile, no big impact on growth could be traced to the expected factors: recent prey, temperature and fishing pressure (anglers are the walleye’s main predator). This is not to say they had no effect – their effects were just not the most influential, she said. 

The findings have implications for wildlife management and ecology research. 

“It helps us set our expectations and understand the mechanisms behind things going on out there. When managers are thinking about what this population is going to look like in three to five years, they ideally will acknowledge the fact that what happened in the past is affecting them and keep that in mind when they’re making their management decisions,” Almeida said.     

“And I do think that it has implications for other animals because what happens in early life or what happened to parents might be more influential than what is happening currently in their environment. And we’re not accounting for that.” 

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, a Distinguished University Fellowship from Ohio State, the American Fisheries Society, the International Association of Great Lakes Research, and the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program administered jointly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and ODNR Division of Wildlife. 

Co-authors were Stuart Ludsin and Elizabeth Marschall of Ohio State, and Matthew Faust of ODNR.

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President carter joins move-in day effort to welcome students back to campus.

The Ohio State University’s carefully orchestrated effort to move students back to campus is underway this week. Thousands of families filled cars, trucks and vans with all the essentials for the start of a new academic year.

Moll promoted to associate vice president of public safety at Ohio State

Monica Moll has been promoted to associate vice president of The Ohio State University’s Department of Public Safety. In addition to the promotion, Moll will serve as interim chief of police following Kimberly Spears-McNatt’s departure on Aug. 26.

How some states help residents avoid costly debt during hard times

A new national study provides the best evidence to date that generous unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic helped reduce reliance on high-cost credit use.

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