Evaluating Different Types of Sources
This overview introduces various types of sources you might encounter in research. Each type has distinct characteristics and purposes, influencing how you use them in your work. Familiarizing yourself with these types will help you select the most appropriate sources and evaluate their relevance to your research needs.
- Primary Sources: Original materials or firsthand accounts.
- "Primary sources provide the raw data you use to support your arguments. Some common types of primary resources include manuscripts, diaries, court cases, maps, data sets, experiment results, news stories, polls, or original research. In many cases what makes a primary resource is contextual. For example, a biography about Abraham Lincoln is a secondary resource about Lincoln. However, if examined as a piece of evidence about the nature of biographical writing, or as an example of the biographer's writing method it becomes a primary resource" (Northwestern: Libraries | Research Guides).
- Secondary Sources: Analysis or interpretation of primary sources.
- "Secondary sources analyze primary sources, using primary source materials to answer research questions. Secondary sources may analyze, criticize, interpret or summarize data from primary sources. The most common secondary resources are books, journal articles, or reviews of the literature. Secondary sources may also be primary sources. For example if someone studies the nature of literary criticism in the 19th century then a literary critique from the 19th century becomes a primary resource" (Northwestern: Libraries | Research Guides).
- Scholarly Sources: Detailed, peer-reviewed works by experts.
- Popular Sources: General audience publications, often less detailed.
- Web-Based Sources: Digital formats including websites and online journals.
- Print Sources: Physical formats such as books and journals.
