Primary Sources for Different Subjects
What counts as original evidence varies by subject. You may be familiar with primary sources for history, in which sources created at the time studied often provide the direct, first-hand account that historians study. For different subjects, primary sources will be different.
Examples of Primary and Secondary Sources
The table below shows examples of primary and secondary sources for different subjects.
|
Subject |
Primary Source |
Secondary Source |
|---|---|---|
|
Science, Social Science |
Peer-reviewed research articles, technical reports Ex. Original research article about Lyme disease |
Articles summarizing or discussing the results of original research Ex. Article reviewing the research on Lyme disease |
|
History |
Diaries, letters, original documents, newspapers Ex. Supreme Court opinion for Plessy v. Ferguson |
Biographies, books, journal articles Ex. Legal analysis of the Supreme Court opinion for Plessy v. Ferguson |
|
Arts |
Music scores, images, performance reviews Ex. Original choreography for Romeo and Juliet |
Stylistic analysis, biographies, journal articles Ex. Analysis of contemporary dance in early 1900s |
|
English |
Original works of literature, poetry Ex. Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace |
Analysis or commentary on primary sources Ex. Journal article about Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace |
|
Philosophy |
Original texts, treatises, meditations, lectures Ex. Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit |
Criticisms in personal letters before 1900; After 1900, journal articles and books Ex. Analysis of the Hegelian Dialectic |
Finding Primary Sources
Since different subjects have different primary sources, you will first need to determine what kind of primary source you’re looking for. Then you can choose a library search tool. If you have questions about where to look for primary sources for your subject, talk to a librarian.