An Introduction to Primary and Secondary Sources

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An Introduction toPrimary and Secondary Sources
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Primary Sources
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What are primary sources?

• Original records from the past recorded by people
  who were
• Involved in the event
• Witnessed the event, OR
• Knew the persons involved in the event

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What are primary sources?

• They can also be objects (artifacts) or visual
  evidence.
• They give you an idea about what people alive at
  the time saw or thought about the event.

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What are primary sources?

• Keep in mind that a primary source reflects only
  one point of view and may contain a persons bias
  (prejudice) toward an event.

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Examples of primary sources
Printed Publications
Books, magazines, newspapers
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Examples of primary sources
Personal Records
Diaries, journals, records
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Examples of primary sources
Visual Materials
Paintings, drawings, sculpture
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Examples of primary sources
Visual Materials
photographs, film, maps
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Examples of primary sources
Oral Histories
Click on this button to hear an example of oral
history -------- gt
Chronicles, memoirs, myths, legends passed down
by word of mouth
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Examples of primary sources
Songs and Poems
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Examples of primary sources
Artifacts
Tools, ornaments, objects
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Secondary Sources
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What are secondary sources?

• Secondary sources are made at a later time.
• They include written information by historians or
  others AFTER an event has taken place.

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What are secondary sources?

• Although they can be useful and reliable, they
  cannot reflect what people who lived at the time
  thought or felt about the event.
• But they can represent a more fair account of the
  event because they can include more than one
  point of view, or may include information that
  was unavailable at the time of the event.

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Examples of secondary sources
Textbooks, biographies, histories, newspaper
report by someone who was not present
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Examples of secondary sources
Charts, graphs, or images created AFTER the time
period.
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Name that Source!
The following slides contain examples of primary
and secondary sources. See if you can classify
each example as a primary or secondary source.
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Classify these primary or secondary?
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The End