Historiography: Primary vs Secondary Sources and the Research Process

Career paths with a history degree

• A history degree does not automatically mean you will become a high school history teacher or stand in front of a class every day. The vast majority of people with history degrees pursue a variety of careers besides teaching.
• Many go on to law school.
• Others work in the nonprofit sector or in administration.
• If you enjoy this class and you’re considering a history minor or major, you should know that you don’t have to become a classroom teacher to use a history degree.
• The takeaway: a history degree opens multiple career paths, not just teaching.

Tools of historians: primary sources vs secondary sources

• Every discipline has its own tool set; historians use two core kinds of sources, which you can think of as a hammer and a wrench for research.
  • Primary source = the hammer: the main tool used to study the past.
  • Secondary source = the wrench: used to interpret, connect, and analyze the primary materials.

Primary sources: what they are and examples

• Definition: a primary source is a first-hand account written by someone who lived through or directly experienced the event in question.
• Characteristics:
  • Produced in the past by people who lived through or witnessed the events.
  • Could be text, image, object, or oral material.
• Examples of primary sources:
  • A letter written between people in the past.
  • A newspaper article from the time of the event.
  • A political cartoon published during the period in question.
  • A map or historical map (e.g., tracing railroads or state lines).
  • Statutes, laws, or other legal documents; The US Constitution and other government documents.
  • Clothing or artifacts and other tangible objects.
  • Photographs or other pictures from the period.
  • Texts that record words or sentiments from the time (e.g., diaries, oral interviews that were written down or recorded).
• Archives and access:
  • Primary sources are often housed in archives found in libraries, museums, and special collections (e.g., the Perry Library at your institution’s ODU archive).
  • Many primary sources are stored in boxes in dedicated rooms; you can request access to view them.
  • In the 21st century, many primary sources have been digitized and are freely available online in digital archives.
  • Your assignments may involve using a digital archive to find a historic newspaper article.

Secondary sources: what they are and examples

• Definition: a secondary source is written after the fact by historians or other experts who interpret or analyze primary sources.
• Characteristics:
  • Often written by historians, lawyers, or journalists who have studied the primary materials.
  • They analyze, synthesize, and interpret past events, rather than providing direct accounts from the time.
• Examples of secondary sources:
  • Books about history, written by historians.
  • Academic journal articles (scholarly essays) published after the events.
• Notable nuance: some works can be both primary and secondary:
  • A book that collects primary sources (diaries, letters, documents) but also includes a historian’s introduction and analysis. In this case, the introduction/overview is a secondary source, while the embedded documents remain primary sources.
• Common misclassifications:
  • A textbook (even if used in class) is typically considered a secondary source.
  • An academic textbook could also include primary documents, but the book overall functions as a secondary source.

The mixed cases: primary, secondary, or both

• Example: a published collection of primary sources with an introductory essay by a historian
  • The introduction/essay is secondary.
  • The actual primary documents inside are primary sources.
• Example: a single historical document with scholarly commentary around it
  • The document is primary; the commentary is secondary.
• Remember: the classification can be context-dependent. The same item can be primary in one research context and secondary in another.

Quick quiz reflections from the classroom demonstration

• 1912 Titanic newspaper article: primary source (first-hand reports or contemporaneous accounts).
• Political cartoon from Reconstruction era (late 1860s–early 1870s): primary source.
• 2011 academic journal article: secondary source.
• A printed textbook (classroom edition): secondary source.
• A book consisting of a historian’s collection of primary documents with an introduction: both primary (the documents) and secondary (the introduction).
• A Civil War era letter dated 1861 or 1864: primary source.
• A diary or journal from the period: primary source.
• A modern book edited by a historian (e.g., a curriculum guide): secondary sources within the book; the diary entries printed inside remain primary.
• COVID-era New York Times headline: could be either primary or secondary depending on the research question (e.g., as a source for understanding contemporary reporting vs. as evidence in a history of the pandemic).

How historians do their work: the five-step process

• Historians generally follow a five-step process to develop a narrative about the past:

  • Step 1. Develop a research question.
  • Step 2. Look at secondary sources to see what others have written about the topic.
  • Step 3. Conduct primary source research in archives, libraries, or online collections to gather firsthand materials.
  • Step 4. Compile the research and develop an argument (a thesis) that answers the research question.
  • Step 5. Write a narrative that deploys the gathered evidence to support the argument. These arguments are interpretive and open to dispute, not mere statements of fact.

• Important ideas about the process:

  • You cannot know everything about every topic; you must determine what information matters for your argument.
  • The goal is to build a coherent interpretation supported by evidence from both primary and secondary sources.
  • The narrative should present a defendable thesis that answers the research question.
  • The process emphasizes critical analysis, synthesis, and persuasive writing rather than merely listing facts.

• Example prompt for practice:

  • You may be asked: Who killed Silas Dean?
  • Your task is to look at the evidence and craft a thesis that answers the question, supported by five key points drawn from the sources provided.
  • Some details (e.g., color of pants) may matter or may not; you must decide what information is relevant to your argument.
  • The exercise is designed to illustrate selecting relevant evidence and building a narrative around a central claim.

Practical exercise and classroom logistics

• Group work setup:
  • Students will work in groups of about three to four.
  • The prompt: piece through the material related to Silas Dean and determine the events that explain his death.
  • Move chairs and form around tables to facilitate discussion; the instructor will move around to assist.
• How to handle confusion about readings:
  • If you cannot locate a reading, go to Canvas, click Content, and follow the materials provided there.
• Course tool access:
  • The digital archive and course readings will be accessed through Canvas.

Connections to broader practice: relevance and implications

• Why these concepts matter:
  • Understanding primary vs. secondary sources helps you evaluate credibility and biases in historical writing.
  • Recognizing that a source can be both a primary and a secondary source in different contexts encourages careful methodological thinking.
  • The five-step research process mirrors real-world scholarly practice and helps develop critical thinking, evidence evaluation, and persuasive writing skills.
• Real-world relevance:
  • In law, journalism, and nonprofit administration, interpreting sources and constructing well-supported arguments are essential.
  • Archival access, both physical and digital, shapes how research is conducted today and can influence what stories are told.
• Ethical and philosophical implications:
  • Historians’ interpretations are not neutral; they reflect choices about what to include, what to emphasize, and what to omit.
  • The shift toward digitization raises questions about access, representation, and preservation of fragile materials.
  • The authority of historical narratives depends on transparent methodology and clear sourcing.

Summary of key terms and concepts

• Primary source: a firsthand, contemporaneous account or artifact produced in the past by someone who experienced the event.
• Secondary source: a later analysis, interpretation, or synthesis of primary sources by historians or other experts.
• Archives: repositories (libraries, museums) where primary sources are kept and preserved.
• Digital archives: online databases offering access to primary sources.
• Thesis: the central argument or claim that answers the research question.
• Narrative: the written presentation of evidence and interpretation that communicates the thesis.
• Interpretive claim: a statement about past events that can be debated or contested based on the evidence.
• Mixed source: a source that contains both primary materials and secondary commentary (e.g., a collected volume with an introduction).
• Research question: the central question guiding a historical inquiry.

Quick reference: example dates and items mentioned (formatted in LaTeX for clarity)

• Titanic sinking reports and survivors: 1912
• W. E. B. Du Bois writing a history of the 1870s: published in the 1930s (the work itself deals with the 1870s)
• Civil War-era documents: 1861 and 1864 (dates appear on letters and journals)
• Reconstruction era political cartoon: late 1860s to early 1870s
• Modern academic journal article: 02/2011 (February 2011)

Final reminder

• The instructor emphasizes that history students will work with both primary and secondary sources, use archives (physical or digital), and follow a structured five-step research process to build a defendable interpretation. The exercise with Silas Dean is designed to practice selecting relevant evidence and constructing a thesis that answers a research question.