Difference Between Secondary and Primary Sources

During the final year of college, students are often assigned the task of conducting a research by analyzing historical data, and tapping into various publications in order to truly confirm the authenticity of their findings. These findings must accurately reflect the nature of their research, which can come from a primary source or a secondary one.

When analyzing primary sources, one is actually dealing with first-hand data, which has not been tampered with and is directly obtained from the actual source. Secondary sources on the other hand, are those which interpret, analyze and explain primary sources. The work is usually authentic but cannot be qualified as primary as the interpreter has not seen the event happen from his or her own eyes.

The major difference between the two is that primary research is genuine and reliable as the information presented cannot be altered. Moreover, one does not need to rely on information interpreted by others. However, primary sources are hard to obtain and require more time as compared to secondary resources.

Some of the common examples of primary sources include written documents, paintings, maps, autobiographies, speeches, interviews etc. Examples of secondary sources include reports, journals, documentaries, reviews etc.

To make the concept simpler, let’s suppose that a person is looking to find the number of accidents occurring on a highway. In order to gather primary data, he will need to be present on the highway at all times to gauge the number of accidents occurring each day for a specified number of days. Alternatively, he can tap into a library or interview local policemen, who will then provide their own estimates regarding the number of accidents.  The library and the policemen will be considered secondary sources.

In most scenarios, you will be dealing with secondary sources due to the easy access of data. However, most research analysts base their work on first-hand data, which they gather themselves for a number of years.