The video below helps to explain the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.
Imagine Easy Solutions. (2014, June 2). Understanding Primary & Secondary Sources. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/pmno-Yfetd8
Primary Sources
Direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of art.
Primary sources may include:
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources.
Secondary source materials may include:
Tertiary Sources
Tertiary sources contain information that has been compiled from primary and secondary sources. Tertiary sources include almanacs, chronologies, dictionaries and encyclopedias, directories, guidebooks, indexes, abstracts, manuals, and textbooks.
Tertiary source materials may include:
Developed via: https://library.ithaca.edu/sp/subjects/primary (opens in new window)