Know the Types of Sources Available in the Library August 26, 2008
Posted by Deborah in : Useful Information , trackback
In the world of research, you often hear the terms primary source, secondary source, and even tertiary source. But what exactly do these terms mean? And do you have to travel a long way to find them? Depending on the discipline, there are various types of primary sources. Most people assume that primary sources can be found only in Special Collections or in a museum, but many of these can be found in other parts of the library or even on the web, if you know what to look for. Here is a quick overview of a few types of sources you might find at the library.
In scientific circles, primary sources are the original research or writings on a subject. These can include technical reports, conference literature, patents, theses, and journals (the main medium for the dissemination of new knowledge in the sciences). For historical research, primary sources are the records of events described or recorded by someone who either participated in or witnessed the events or who got their information from others who did. Examples include newspaper accounts, letters, diaries, memoirs, notebooks, and interviews. Government records are primary sources, and these include birth, death, and marriage certificates, as well as census, legislative and court records, wills and land records. Maps are primary sources and so are directories such as city directories and those of professional organizations.
In the study of art history and other related disciplines, the art object itself, as well as photographs, artifacts, and posters are considered to be primary sources. In addition, the exhibit, auction, and sales catalogs of an artist’s work may also be considered primary sources.
It may be surprising to consider advertising as a primary source. Any items that documents events, such as broadsides and printed ephemera, tickets, timetables, and announcements are primary sources. The commonality in all types of primary sources is that they provide direct evidence of an event or describe a point in time.
Secondary Sources are materials published about primary sources such as books and articles that report on and interpret primary sources, and tools which point the user to primary sources such as abstracts, bibliographies, indexes, etc. Secondary sources are created by someone who was either not present when an event occurred or removed from it in time.
Tertiary Sources take the information found in primary and secondary sources and reformat it. These can include encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, chronologies, guidebooks, manuals, and indexes.
An example that might help the art historian would break the sources down as follows. The primary source might be considered the work of art itself, or the artist’s statement. The secondary source might be a critique of the work or a biography of the artist. A tertiary source might be the entry for the work of art in an online art index such as Artstor or an entry in an encyclopedia of art.
Many government records are on microfilm and are accessible in places such as the Georgia Historical Society or the Live Oak Public Library in the Genealogy and local history room. The Georgia Historical Society also has a large collection documents and artifacts that are accessible in their reading room and they will be happy to assist also.
If you are looking for primary sources on the web, the American Library Association has a great guide for what to look for and how to cite web primary sources. Using Primary Sources on the Web offers a wealth of information.
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