Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Which of these is always TRUE about primary sources?

• They were written by someone who was there during the event/time period.

• They were written years after the event or time period they are about, by someone who wasn't there.

• They are written by experts in their field.

• You do not need to cite them.

Which of the following is TRUE about secondary sources?

• They are written during the time period by someone who was there.

• You can always trust that they are accurate.

• They are usually written after an event happens and/or by someone who wasn't there.

Which of these is PRIMARY?

• An encyclopedia article on the Women's Liberation Movement.

• A book about feminism.

• A photograph of the Women's March for Equal Rights.

• A Wikipedia article about reproductive rights.

Which of these is PRIMARY?

• A photo of women living in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

• A biography of Elie Wiesel.

• An article from the US Holocaust Museum on Auschwitz.

• An encyclopedia article on Auschwitz.

Which of these is SECONDARY?

• Song lyrics

• A video taken at a concert

• A book about music in the 1950s

• The album art for a 1950s record

Which of these is PRIMARY?

• A book about desegregation.

• A newspaper article about the 20th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

• A biography of Martin Luther King.

• President Eisenhower's executive order dispatching troops to Little Rock.

Which of these is PRIMARY?

• An FBI file on Malcolm X.

• A biography of Malcolm X.

• An encyclopedia entry on Malcolm X.

• A book about the Black Panther party.

Which of these is PRIMARY?

• An encyclopedia entry about gender stereotypes.

• A YouTube video of a professor talking about changing gender roles throughout history.

• A book about several important women in history.

• A photograph of a woman working on an airplane in WWII.

Which of these is PRIMARY?

• A book about the Space Race.

• An encyclopedia article about the Space Race.

• A newspaper article detailing the anniversary of the first mission to the moon.

• A photograph of the first man on the moon.

Which of these is SECONDARY?

• An article reflecting on fashion of the 1960s

• A photo from a women's fashion magazine, circa 1960

• An advertisement for lipstick, that appeared in magazines in 1952

• A Vogue article on fashion trends, published in 1954.