Main article: Primary source
In the study of history as an academic discipline, a "primary source" (also called an "original source") is a first hand account of events by someone who lived through them. "Primary sources were made during the historical period that is being investigated."3
Main article: Secondary source
In scholarship, a secondary source45 is a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere.
A secondary source is one that gives information about a primary source. In a secondary source, the original information is selected, modified and arranged in a suitable format. Secondary sources involve generalization, analysis, interpretation, or evaluation of the original information.
Main article: Tertiary source
A tertiary source is an index or textual consolidation of already published primary and secondary sources6 that does not provide additional interpretations or analysis of the sources.78 Some tertiary sources can be used as an aid to find key (seminal) sources, key terms, general common knowledge9 and established mainstream science on a topic. The exact definition of tertiary varies by academic field.
Tosh, John. 1999. The Pursuit of History. 3rd Ed. Longman. p. 36 ↩
Tosh, John. 1999. The Pursuit of History. 3rd Ed. Longman. p. 37 ↩
"Primary and secondary sources explained". https://www.historyskills.com/source-criticism/analysis/source-kind-and-type/ ↩
"Primary, secondary and tertiary sources Archived 2020-02-18 at the Wayback Machine". University Libraries, University of Maryland. http://lib.guides.umd.edu/c.php?g=327327&p=2195975 ↩
"Secondary sources Archived 2014-11-06 at the Wayback Machine". James Cook University. http://libguides.jcu.edu.au/secondary ↩
Primary, secondary and tertiary sources. Archived 2013-07-03 at the Wayback Machine". University Libraries, University of Maryland. Retrieve 07/26/2013 http://www.lib.umd.edu/ues/guides/primary-sources ↩
"Tertiary Information Sources". Old Dominion University -- ODU Libraries. September 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2013. http://www.lib.odu.edu/genedinfolit/1infobasics/tertiary_information_sources.html ↩
"Tertiary sources Archived 2014-11-06 at the Wayback Machine". James Cook University. http://libguides.jcu.edu.au/tertiary ↩
"Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Resources". University of New Haven. http://libguides.newhaven.edu/content.php?pid=465151&sid=3809011 ↩