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This wall painting found in the Roman city of Pompeii is an example of a primary source about people in Pompeii in Roman times (portrait of Terentius Neo).. In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time ...
So while a dictionary is an example of a tertiary source, an ancient dictionary is actually a primary source—for the meanings of words in the ancient world. There are no quaternary sources: Either the source is primary, or it describes, comments on, or analyzes primary sources (in which case, it is secondary), or it relies heavily or entirely ...
A tertiary source is an index or textual consolidation of already published primary and secondary sources [6] that does not provide additional interpretations or analysis of the sources. [7] [8] Some tertiary sources can be used as an aid to find key (seminal) sources, key terms, general common knowledge [9] and established mainstream science on a
This includes published accounts, published works, or published research. For example, a history book drawing upon diary and newspaper records. Tertiary sources are compilations based upon primary and secondary sources. [1] [8] [3] These are sources which, on average, do not fall into the above two levels. They consist of generalized research ...
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 ...
The following examples cover only some of the possible types of reliable sources and source reliability issues, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Proper sourcing always depends on context; common sense and editorial judgment are an indispensable part of the process.
Greek ostraka provide good examples of historical documents from "among the common people". Many documents that are produced today, such as personal letters, pictures, contracts, newspapers, and medical records, would be considered valuable historical documents in the future.
These examples demonstrate why primary, secondary, and tertiary source definitions can be difficult for some editors to grasp, and a source for contention. While it is useful to grasp these distinctions, it is most important to just keep focused on using these sources in a manner which does not involve original research.