Primary Source Meaning


Primary Source Meaning. In the sciences (biology, ecology, chemistry), primary source documents focus on original research, ideas, or findings published in academic journals. A secondary source is a work that interprets or analyzes an historical event or period after the event has occurred and, generally speaking, with the use of primary sources.

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A primary source gives you direct access to the subject of your research. Similar definitions can be used in library science and other areas of scholarship, although different fields have. A primary data source is an original data source, that is, one in which the data are collected firsthand by the researcher for a specific research purpose or project.

See Also Related Terms For Research.


Biographies of historical and famous people. In the natural and social. Primary data can be collected in a number of ways.

The Nature And Value Of A Source Cannot Be Determined Without Reference To The Topic And Questions It Is Meant To Answer.


A direct source of information or research, a document not emended by a third party. Primary sources enable researchers to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period. A primary data source is an original data source, that is, one in which the data are collected firsthand by the researcher for a specific research purpose or project.

Often They Are Created During The Time Period Which Is Being Studied (Correspondence, Diaries, Newspapers, Government Documents, Art) But They Can Also Be Produced Later By Eyewitnesses Or Participants (Memoirs, Oral Histories).


They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented. Essays analyzing novels, works of art, and other original creations. Secondary sources often offer interpretations or analysis.

A Primary Source Is A Document Or Object That Was Created Contemporaneously With The Time Or Event Being Studied.


And they detail the researcher’s methodology and results. It serves as an original source of information about the topic. Primary source synonyms, primary source pronunciation, primary source translation, english dictionary definition of primary source.

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.


Primary sources are direct from an event or original source, such as the declaration of independence, and secondary sources are anything written about something that isn't the primary account of whatever the source is referencing, such as textbooks discussing the declaration. The same document, or other piece of evidence, may be a primary source in one investigation and secondary in another. Primary sources vary by discipline and can include historical and legal documents, eye witness accounts, results of an experiment, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, and art objects.