Types of References: Primary vs Secondary Sources
| Introduction |
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| Evaluating Web Resources |
Primary and secondary sources contain two very different
types of information: |
Primary Sources Definition - In the sciences, primary sources convey information about the completion of original work, presented by the people that did the orginal research. Example from other disciplines - Autobiographies Example of primary source "Construction and characterization of amplifiable multicopy DNA cloning vehicles derived from the P15A cryptic miniplasmid." |
Secondary Sources Definition - In the sciences, secondary sources convey analysis about the completion of a variety of primary sources on the same topic. Secondary sources are often compiled as research reviews or magazine articles about someone else's research.
Example of primary source - Your textbook |
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Bottom Line: Is a primary source better that a secondary source? No. In fact, many primary sources may be hard to read. However, it is worth noting that a secondary source is only as good as the primary sources it cites. |
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| This tutorial was created by Aaron Fried, contact frieda@cortland.edu with comments. ©2004, Aaron Fried |