Primary and Secondary Sources of information

What are primary sources? Original records from the past recorded by people who were: Involved in the event Witnessed the event, OR Knew the persons involved in the event

What are primary sources? They can also be objects (artifacts) or visual evidence. They give you an idea about what people alive at the time saw or thought about the event.

What are primary sources? Keep in mind that a primary source reflects only one point of view and may contain a person s bias (prejudice) toward an event. Primary sources allow the researcher (YOU!) to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period.

Examples of primary sources Diaries and journals Example: Anne Frank was a teenager during World War II. She kept a diary or journal the years before she died in a concentration camp. Her diary was later published as the Diary of Anne Frank.

Examples of primary sources: Autobiographies An autobiography is when you write a story or book about yourself. Example: Nelson Mandela wrote his autobiography about events in his life called Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. This is a primary document because he wrote his first hand experiences.

Examples of primary sources Speeches are considered Primary Sources. Examples of Speeches: Abraham Lincoln s Gettysburg Address Martin Luther King s I Have a Dream All of the President s Inauguration Speeches.

Examples of primary sources Historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution are primary documents. They were drafted and signed. Other Primary Sources would be Birth Certificates Government records Court documents Military records Tax records Census records

Examples of primary sources Sound Recordings and interviews Example 1: During the Great Depression and World War II, television had not been invented yet. The people would often sit around the radio to listen to President Roosevelt s war messages. Those radio addresses are considered primary sources. Example 2: During the 2008 election Barack Obama, had many interviews that were televised. Those interviews are considered primary sources

Examples of primary sources Photographs and videos Example 1: Photographers during World War II took photographs of battles and/or events during the war. Example 2: A film made interviewing president Correa.

Examples of primary sources Letters are considered primary sources. Example: Soldiers during wars wrote to their families about war events they experienced.

Examples of primary sources: Songs and Poems

Examples of primary sources: Artifacts Tools, ornaments, objects

What are secondary sources? Secondary sources are made at a later time. The information is gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness an event. They include written information by historians or others AFTER an event has taken place.

What are secondary sources? Although they can be useful and reliable, they cannot reflect what people who lived at the time thought or felt about the event. But they can represent a more fair account of the event because they can include more than one point of view, or may include information that was unavailable at the time of the event.

Examples of secondary sources: Textbooks, journal articles, encyclopedias, report by someone who was not present

Primary or secondary sources? Newspaper and Magazine articles can be a primary or secondary sources. If the article was written at the time something happened, then it is a primary source. Example: The articles written on Barack Obama s inauguration in 2009 are primary sources. However, if a reporter in 2009 wrote about George Washington s inauguration using information written by someone else (1789), that would be a secondary source.

Examples of secondary sources: Charts, graphs, or images created AFTER the time period.

Name that Source! The following slides contain examples of primary and secondary sources. See if you can classify each example as a primary or secondary source.

Classify these: primary or secondary?

Classify these: