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They have been distinguished from secondary sources, which often cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources. [6] They serve as an original source of information or new ideas about the topic. Primary and secondary, however, are relative terms, and any given source may be classified as primary or secondary, depending on how it is used. [7]
A primary source can have all of these qualities, and a secondary source may have none of them. Deciding whether primary, secondary or tertiary sources are appropriate on any given occasion is a matter of good editorial judgment and common sense, not merely mindless, knee-jerk reactions to classification of a source as "primary" or "secondary".
Secondary source material is based on primary and other secondary source material, and may include synthesis and novel conclusions. A tertiary source is one that is based on a broad base of material, usually secondary, without introducing new synthesis or conclusions. Many sources contain a combination of primary/secondary or secondary/tertiary ...
A secondary source may also be a primary source depending on how it is used. [3] For example, a memoir would be considered a primary source in research concerning its author or about their friends characterized within it, but the same memoir would be a secondary source if it were used to examine the culture in which its author lived. "Primary ...
A primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation or it may be a document created by such a person. A secondary source is one that gives information about a primary source. In a secondary source, the original information is selected, modified and arranged in a suitable format.
In scholarship, a secondary source [4] [5] is a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere. A secondary source is one that gives information about a primary source. In a secondary source, the original information is selected, modified and arranged in a suitable format.
Sources of information are commonly categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary sources.In brief, a primary source is one close to the event with firsthand knowledge (for example, an eyewitness); a secondary source is at least one step removed (for example, a book about an event written by someone not involved in it); and a tertiary source is an encyclopaedia or textbook that provides a ...
It has a policy distinguishing among primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. Dictionaries and glossaries present a special challenge in determining whether the source is primary, secondary, or tertiary. One dictionary or glossary may be considered a primary source among linguists, whereas for Wikipedia's purposes it is a secondary source.