Here are some tips for finding primary and secondary sources in your school library: - Check the online public access catalog (OPAC) and search by subject, keywords, or browse shelves to find books containing primary sources like letters, diaries, speeches, etc. or secondary sources like biographies, histories, encyclopedias. - Search the library's online databases using keywords. Databases like Nettrekker, eLibrary, and ProQuest contain both primary documents and secondary sources. - Ask the librarian for help. They have expertise in locating specific types of sources and can show you how to search most effectively. - Be wary of open web search engines, as sources found may not be credible or peer

1. Primary and Secondary
Sources

3. What is going on in this

4. What questions does it raise?

5. What does it tell us about this time period?

6. Different Types of Sources
 There are two different types of sources
 Primary- evidence from a time period or event
 Secondary- someone else’s interpretation of a
time period or event.
 Direct Source- First Hand account
 Indirect Source- Second Hand information

7. What is a Primary Source?
An informational source from the time of an event
 Autobiographies  Artifacts
 Diaries  Oral histories
 Documents
 Photographs
 Eyewitness accounts
 Film footage
 Art
 Laws
 Music
 Letters
 Newspaper articles
 Speeches

8. Why do we use primary sources?
 It’s hard evidence from the time period,
not information that has been passed
through the telephone game of telling and
retelling history.
 Only your interpretation

9. Does a Primary Source have to be the
original material?
No – it can be in another form, but it can’t
be edited or interpreted in any way.
For example,
A picture of King Tut’s coffin
printed in a book or posted on
a website can be considered
a primary source.

10. Questions to ask yourself when looking
at Primary Sources
 Who wrote (or made) this?
 How do they know the information they
are telling me?
 When did they write/ make it?
 Why did they write/ make it?
 Who did they write/ make it for?

11. What are Secondary Sources?
An informational source that analyzes the
event.
 These sources often use several primary
sources to compile their information.
 This is someone else’s interpretation of an
event, not a first person account.
 Examples
 Biographies
 Encyclopedias
 History books
 Textbooks

12. Are Secondary Sources useful?
Yes – They provide the necessary
background or context to be able to
interpret Primary Sources.
For example,
World Book 2005 or your Social Studies
textbook can provide background information
about the events leading up to the Trojan
War.

13. Name that Source
Primary vs. Secondary

14. Primary or Secondary?
 A copy of the USA
Constitution, printed in
an 8th grade text book.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
Questions to ask:
are needed to see this picture.
 When was it created?

15. Primary or Secondary?
 A drawing of King
Arthur and his Knights
of the Round Table.
Questions to ask:
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
 Was the artist actually
present at this event?

16. Primary or Secondary?
 Encyclopedia article
about the first Emperor
of China.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Questions to ask:
 Were the authors
involved in the events
they are writing about?

17. Primary or Secondary?
 Homer’s Iliad, an epic
poem about the men
and women of the
Trojan War.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Questions to ask:
 When was the Iliad
written?
 At the time of the War?
 Years after the War
ended?

18. Primary or Secondary?
 Photos of the Terracotta Soldiers from a website.
Questions to ask:
 When were they made?
 During the time period or event?
 After the time period or event?

19. Primary or Secondary?
 A journal written by an
artist who made the
terracotta soldiers.
Questions to ask:
 When was it written?
QuickTime™ and a  Was the person who
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
wrote it actually
involved in the event?
 Did the author get
his/her information for
someone else who was
involved in the event?

20. Primary or Secondary?
 Artifacts from the tomb
of King Tut.
Questions to ask:
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.  When were they made?
 Who made them?

21. Primary or Secondary?
 Troy, a movie about the
Trojan War starring Brad
Pit.
Questions to Ask:
 What was the author’s
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
purpose:
are needed to see this picture.
 Was this a documentary
based on historical
research?
 Was this a film produced
by Hollywood for
entertainment purposes?

22. What do you think?
 Artifacts from the tomb
of King Tut.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

23. What do you think?
 Photo of the Terracotta Soldiers from a website.

24. What do you think?
 The USA Constitution
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

25. Primary or Secondary?
 Autobiographies

26. Primary or Secondary?
 Eyewitness accounts

27. Primary or Secondary?
 Letters

28. Primary or Secondary?
 A journal written by the
farmers who headed
West

29. Primary or Secondary?
 Achilles' speech to his
soldiers before a battle
in the Trojan War, from
Homer’s epic poem
Iliad.

30. Primary or Secondary?
 Artifacts

31. Primary or Secondary?
 Art

32. Beware of Bias!
Is it possible for a Secondary Source to
be completely objective (unbiased)?

33. Wikipedia’s entry on President Bush
The following passage describes his National Guard
service:
In May 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, he
entered the Texas Air National Guard. He trained
in the guard for two years, where he was among
the last to learn to fly the F-102, a plane not used
in Vietnam and due to be retired.
While this could be true, why would it be important to
know that he was “among the last to learn to fly the
F-102”? Is this a commentary on President Bush
flying an outdated plane? Is it an unbiased point of
view?

34. Encarta’s entry on President Bush
(note that Encarta lets people edit its pages but with editor approval)
Upon completing college, [Bush] became eligible for the military draft.
To meet his service obligation, Bush enlisted in the Texas Air
National Guard in 1968. He told the admitting officer that he
wanted to become a pilot like his father, who was a highly
decorated Navy flier in World War II. He did his basic training at
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and entered a pilot-training
program at Moody Air Force Base Georgia. He received favorable
reports from his superiors, attained the rank of second lieutenant,
and was certified to fly the F-102 jet fighter during training
missions in the South and along the Gulf Coast.
Encarta doesn’t mention that President Bush being one of the last to fly the
F-102, and instead notes patriotically how President Bush wanted to fly
a jet like his father.

35. Where can I find Primary and
Secondary Sources in my school
library?
OPAC
Subject, Keyword, Power searches
On-line Databases
Nettrekker
Elibrary
ProQuest
Search Engines
Use your favorite, but use it wisely