Unit 2: Determing Research Needs?

Lesson 5: Primary and Secondary Sources

Most of the time, you will need to use secondary sources—publications that describe and interpret an event that already has taken place—to complete your assignments. However, your professor may require you to use primary sources: documents that provide firsthand accounts of historical events. Examples of primary sources include letters, photographs, diaries, and maps. Examples of secondary sources include books, textbooks, and journal articles. To determine if you need to use primary and/or secondary sources, ask yourself:

Does my professor require me to use published materials, primary sources, or a combination of both?

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