what is the difference between a primary source and a secondary source?

Question

if u cant answer by 2morrow (9/21/07) then please dont answer!!!!!

Answer 1

A primary source is one which you experience first hand. i.e. direct observations, interviews, surveys, original records, etc. A secondary source is reading books, newspaper accounts, encyclopedia, discussing with others and noting observations, reviewing what was written by someone else.

Answer 2

A primary source is information taken from a specific time period that you are studying. A secondary source is informational writings about something that happened at a different time or place by someone who was not directly involved in the specific event or era.

Examples: American Revolution

Primary Sources: Writings by Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, writings by Thomas Paine, etc.

Secondary Sources: a Social Studies Textbook, writings by someone in the mid-1800s, your history professor telling stories of the Revolutionary War, nonfiction books from your local library.

Primary Sources often include newspaper articles, magazines or catalogs from a particular time period or genre, political documents, diaries, interviews, etc.

Ken Burns' series on the Civil War included MANY primary sources.

Answer 3

Primary sources are accounts from eyewitnesses, people involved in an event. A secondary source would be a report from someone who heard about it, and talked to the people involved. Television interviews with the people involved are primary, newspaper stories written by a reporter could be primary or secondary, depending on if the reporter saw the event.

Answer 4

A primary source could be something you saw yourself. A secondary would be something someone else saw and told you about it. Just an example.

Answer 5

In research, we can quote the original research such as conducted survay for example or the testing - this is PRIMARY SOURCE. If we look up the primary research and quot about the research then - this is called SECONDARY SOURCE research.

For a clear explanation see also http://library.albany.edu/usered/basics/primary.html

Good luck in your quest.

Answer 6

the only difference between the two is the order. primary is first and secondary is second.
they may be identical--for example:
my primary source for groceries is the HEB (name of local g stores in Texas) on west main and my secondary source is the heb on newton ave.