The determination of a text as popular or scholarly is one way to classify it and to understand what type of information you are engaging with while doing research.  Another way to classify sources is by considering whether they are primary, secondary or tertiary. Popular sources can be primary, secondary, or tertiary. Scholarly sources, also, can be primary, secondary, or tertiary.

Below are some definitions and examples of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.

 

 Primary Sources

Old handwritten letters on a desk

Primary sources provide a first hand account about an event, person, object, work of art, experiment, etc. They are contemporary, or created at the same time as the event occurs.

Examples: Letters collections, memoirs, photographs, maps, data, laws, news report of an event at the time it takes place

 

 

 Secondary Sources

Scholarly journals; covers on display  on a stand in the Library

Secondary sources describe, interpret, evaluate or analyze information from primary sources. In other words, the authors gained their information second hand. 

Examples: Books, journal review articles, biographies

 

 

 Tertiary Sources

Blue encyclopedia open on it's spine on a desk

Tertiary sources summarize information taken from primary or secondary sources to give background information on a subject area. They are useful for getting a very broad overview of a topic, introductory facts (e.g. formulas) and for looking up definitions.

Examples:  Dictionaries, manuals, almanacs

 

 

 Test Your Knowledge: Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary

 


Creative Commons License Ontario Tech University Library
Except where otherwise noted, the content on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License