ACE Library FAQ: Answer

Primary sources differ by discipline.

In the social sciences, primary sources – more often referred to as primary literature or primary data – are peer-reviewed articles. They contain the results of original research gathered in the field. (Primary literature would be the articles or presentations based on the articles and primary data would be the raw data collected during interviews, observations, or surveys.)

In the arts and humanities, primary sources are original creative works, such as paintings, novels, plays, songs, sculpture, or musical performances.

In history, primary sources are original records created during the time of a historical event or a first-hand account of an event such as an interview or memoir.

Secondary sources also differ by discipline.

In the social sciences, a secondary source analyzes or summarizes the primary literature. A literature review of a topic, for example, could be peer-reviewed, but it is summarizing and analyzing primary literature. More often, writers will report on primary literature but make the language easier for a non-specialized audience to read in a popular but credible publication, such as Newsweek or The New York Times.

In the arts, humanities, and history, a secondary source is written about a primary source. For example, a theatre scholar writes about Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Hamlet is the primary source, but the research and scholarly interpretation of the play may be a peer-reviewed article by a Shakespearean scholar.

Tertiary sources are often known as reference resources, like encyclopedias or dictionaries. They provide information that is two steps removed from primary evidence and based on secondary sources. Tertiary sources summarize secondary sources and make them easier to find through indexes or lists.

Scholars go beyond what is already known and found in tertiary sources – they build their own arguments based on original resources. This is why students should not cite encyclopedias and dictionaries in their dissertation research – it is not part of original scholarship.