An artifact or document that was written at the time the event happened. It is an original. It can be a diary, photographs, audio recordings, videos, speeches, letters, government documents, autobiographies, etc.
A book or piece of writing written by someone who did not experience what they are writing about first hand. The author will use primary sources as a source of research. Some examples of secondary sources include biographies, textbooks, encyclopedias, etc.
Primary Sources are original artifacts, while Secondary Sources are re-creations or writing/information taken from research of primary sources.
When you have to figure out if a source is primary or secondary....ask yourself these questions..
1. Did the person writing the thing do the thing? If your answer is yes then it is a primary source; if your answer is no, then it is a secondary source
2. Where is the information, that is being written about, coming from? If your answer is the author is writing from personal experience, then it is a primary source; if your answer is the author is writing about an event that he/she did research on, then it is a secondary source?
For your homework I would like you to write research and find one example of a Primary Source and one example of a Secondary Source. You need to have a total of two specific examples (for example: Diary of Anne Frank-Primary Source and A Journal Article on the Civil War- Secondary Source). You then need to give me reasons/data to why you think it is a primary source and why it is a secondary source. *You cannot use my examples...find your own. There are many examples so be creative:) Please add pictures of your sources. You need at least one page typed, double spaced, times new roman, 12 pt font. If you have any questions email me!
Check out this additional website that sums up Primary and Secondary Sources