These tend to summarize the existing state of knowledge in a field at the time of publication. Secondary sources are good to find comparisons of different ideas and theories and to see how they may have changed over time. They can be a good place to look up data or to get an overview of a subject, but they rarely contain original material. Cycle of Information Your professor has instructed you to get primary or secondary materials for your research project, and you are confused.
If you understand the publication cycle of information, you will then understand what your professor means when they request primary or secondary materials.
Chart One of this guide defines the different stages of the cycle of information. Timing of the event recorded --If the article was composed close to the time of the event recorded, chances are it is primary material.
For instance, a letter written by a soldier during the Vietnam War is primary material, as is an article written in the newspaper at the time of the Vietnam War.
However, an article written about the Vietnam War in recent years would be secondary material. Rhetorical aim of the written item --Often, an item that is written with a persuasive, or analytical, aim is secondary material. These materials have digested and interpreted the event with a certain detachment not characteristic of primary materials. Context of the researching scholar --Primary materials for a critic studying the literature of the Vietnam War are different from primary materials for a research scientist studying the affects of Agent Orange syndrome.
The critic's primary materials are the poems, stories, and films of the era. The research scientist's primary materials would be the medical records of those person exposed to Agent Orange. Sources that digest, analyze, evaluate and interpret the information contained within primary sources. They tend to be argumentative. Sources that compile, analyze, and digest secondary sources.
They tend to be factual. Secondary sources tend to come second in the publication cycle. Tertiary sources tend to come last in the publication cycle. Often newspapers, weekly and monthly-produced magazines; letters, diaries. Often scholarly periodicals and books. Professors like these. Often reference books. Articles in scholarly journals analyzing the war, possibly footnoting primary documents; books analyzing the war.
Historical dictionaries, encyclopedias and almanacs. Articles in scholarly journals analyzing the literature; books analyzing the literature; formal biographies of writers of the war. Some clues that you've found an encyclopedia entry include:. Entry Author if different than the editor of the encyclopedia. Entry title. In Editor s Ed. Heyman, J. Social change.
Birx Ed. SAGE Publications. Note: Not all encyclopedia entry reference citations will follow this format exactly. If you have questions about citing an encyclopedia using APA style, please contact the Writing Center. These sources are records of events or evidence as they are first described or actually happened without any interpretation or commentary. It is information that is shown for the first time or original materials on which other research is based. Primary sources display original thinking, report on new discoveries, or share fresh information.
Examples of primary sources: Theses, dissertations, scholarly journal articles research based , some government reports, symposia and conference proceedings, original artwork, poems, photographs, speeches, letters, memos, personal narratives, diaries, interviews, autobiographies, and correspondence. These sources offer an analysis or restatement of primary sources. An ideal current source is a current source that supplies constant current to a circuit despite any other conditions present in the circuit.
Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Essay Is an encyclopedia a credible source? Ben Davis May 3, Is an encyclopedia a credible source? What is considered an academic source? How do you know if a source is academic? What type of source is Encyclopedia Britannica?
Can I trust Britannica? Why did the Encyclopedia Britannica fail? What can you do with old encyclopedias? Who is Britannica owned by? How many articles are in the Encyclopedia Britannica? What is the most reliable encyclopedia?
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