Primary Sources Primary sources are materials that were produced in the same time frame as your historical topic. They provide immediate, firsthand accounts of history and take on one of the following forms, amongst others: Photographs Video footage Original documents Oral histories Letters Speeches Diaries Newspaper articles Artifacts Survey data Audio clips Helpful resource: Photo Analysis Worksheet Secondary Sources Secondary sources are usually published books, articles, or other materials that provide a comprehensive overview of your historical topic. They include summaries, analysis, and interpretations of related primary sources. Secondary sources include: Books Scholarly articles Documentaries Biographies Encyclopedias and other reference sources Textbooks Interviews with historians or scholars TIPS: Rule 17 in the contest rule book requires you to separate your annotated bibliography into two sections–one for primary sources and one for secondary sources used during your research process. Make sure your sources are always separated so you don’t have to scramble to sort them later on when creating your annotated bibliography! It can be difficult to figure out if a research material is a primary or secondary source. If you aren’t sure how to classify a source, search online or ask a librarian, teacher, or historian.
