Skip to Main Content
Research Guides Homepage

Distance Learning

Primary Source vs. Secondary Sources

Primary sources are records or documents created at the time historical events occurred. Primary sources could also be made after historical events have taken place by someone who participated in those events (for example, memoirs or oral histories). Some of the most common types of primary sources are letters, manuscripts, diaries, newspapers, statistics, interviews, memoirs, oral histories, speeches, objects, or artifacts.  Some examples are below:

   

Secondary sources interpret or analyze an historical event. Most secondary sources are books, journal and magazine articles, or reference works like dictionaries and encyclopedias.

For more information on primary and secondary sources, check out the following websites:

Popular vs. Scholarly Periodicals

https://www.sanjac.edu/library| Central Library: 281-476-1850 | Generation Park Campus: 281-998-6150 x8133 | North Library: 281-459-7116 | South Library: 281-998-6150 ext. 3306