Primary sources are firsthand accounts of events, ideas, or statements. They are usually created at the time of an event or very soon after.
Primary sources can come in many different forms, including diaries, letters, photographs, art, maps, video and film, sound recordings, interviews, newspapers, magazines, novels, poems, short stories, autobiographies, or memoirs. The exact form of a primary source is not important. It is the content and context of the material that makes it a primary source. For example, a novel written in 2012 about the Peloponnesian War isn’t a primary source for information about the Peloponnesian War (unless the author is somehow over two thousand years old). However, the same novel is a primary source for information about the author’s ideas, philosophy, and writing style.
When trying to identify a Primary Source, ask yourself:
If you answer to any of the above is “yes,” then it is likely that you are looking at a Primary Source.
Secondary sources report, describe, comment on, or analyze the experiences or work of others.
A secondary source is at least once removed from the primary source. It reports on the original work, the direct observation, or the firsthand experience. It will often use primary sources as examples.
Secondary sources can include books, textbooks, newspapers, biographies, journal articles, movies and magazines. As with primary sources, the format is less important than the information being presented. If the source seeks to report, describe, comment on or analyze an original work, direct observation, or firsthand experience of another person, it is a secondary source.
Sources:
Eamon, Michael. “Defining Primary and Secondary Sources.” Library and Archives Canada, Library and Archives Canada,
27 May 2010, https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/education/008-3010-e.html.
Payton, Melissa. The Prentice Hall Guide to Evaluating Online Resources with Research Navigator 2004. Pearson Education Inc., 2004.
You can access these or any other of the Library's databases from the Library Page on the Marianopolis Website or through our A-Z list of databases.
To log in to any of the Library's databases, please follow these step-by-step instructions.
A joint project of the Université de Montréal, Université de Laval, UQAM, and other partners, Érudit contains several Canadian research journals in French and English, including a large amount of Open Access content.
When using Érudit, remember that you will need to use French keywords to find French articles on your topic. Using English keywords will only find English materials.
The fastest and easiest way to search for books and eBooks on your topic is to use the Library Catalogue's Advanced Search. The Advanced Search will give you access to multiple search boxes, which will allow you to apply the techniques we discuss in Creating a Research Plan.
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