Science: Getting Started: Primary Sources

The definition of a primary source depends upon the discipline and on how one is using the source.

A Primary Source is a first-hand, or original, account of the topic being studied. In a science class that might include:

• Reports on the results of an experiment, intervention, or trial by the person or group who performed it (usually published in a journal)
• Raw data from an experiment
• Lab notebooks

A secondary source would be something that interprets, analyzes, or remarks upon a primary source. Examples include:

• Scholarly journal articles summarizing existing bodies of research
• Newspaper and magazine articles
• Stories or films produced about a topic

A tertiary source is further removed from a primary source. It leads the researcher to a secondary source, rather than to the primary source.

• Encyclopedias and dictionaries
• Textbooks
• Biographies