Learn about the differences between primary and secondary sources and why context matters by playing Wheel of Sources
noun
The evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the creator of the work and in the same field.
What is considered primary, secondary, or tertiary information may vary according to your field of study.
Primary Sources are the original resources that first report research or ideas. In research, these are often research articles in scholarly journals. However, they may include newspapers, research reports, trade journals, conference proceedings, dissertations, Web sites, novels, poems, plays, speeches, interviews, letters, case studies, test data, findings from surveys, archaeological drawings, experiments, films, drawings, designs, paintings, music, sculptures, etc. IF it is the original source of information.
Secondary Sources are resources that analyze, describe, and synthesize the primary or original source. These include review articles, newspaper articles, reference books such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, and textbooks.
Tertiary sources are resources written about the secondary literature. In other words, literature which explains, teaches you how to use, and leads you through the vast array of primary and secondary scientific literature. Examples may include textbooks, monographs, bibliographies, encyclopedias and reference books of all kinds which provide a summary of accepted knowledge about a topic or subject area in broad outline. Librarians disagree on the precision of this definition and some do not use the term at all, preferring categories of only primary and secondary sources.
