Primary and Secondary Reading Sources

Flashcards covering the definitions, examples, roles, and limitations of primary and secondary reading sources in documentary research.

Primary sources of reading

Sources that are written at the time of an event or report upon primary research in the first hand.

Personal primary sources

Written sources such as diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, newspaper articles, and research reports used for first-hand research.

Official and commercial primary documents

Primary records including birth, marriage, and death certificates, parish records, trading records, and legal documents relating to property transactions.

Secondary sources of reading

Sources written at a later date than the events, created either by those involved in the events or by commentators, historians, or biographers.

Authorised biographies

Works falling between primary and secondary sources that carry the endorsement and cooperation of the person whose story is being told.

Limitations of primary sources

Primary sources can provide highly biased and distorted versions of events, can be inconsistent with each other, and may show less than the whole picture.

Role of secondary sources

To report upon and attempt to make sense of the multiple, inconsistent, or distorted accounts provided through primary reading.

Documentary research

Forms of research focused upon primary and secondary reading sources, including archival research in the social sciences and history.