Primary vs Secondary Sources | Know the Difference

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Research plays a crucial part in making the base for your writing process. So, the sources that you use for the process are basically of two types: primary and secondary sources. Both types of sources are a significant part of gathering information. Whether we talk about theoretical subjects, like humanity, or practical ones, like science. You need them for your research process. Thus, it becomes crucial to know the difference between primary vs secondary sources. Thus, it would help if you learned about them from this informative write-up. So, let us learn about the meaning of primary sources from the following section.

What Is Primary Source?

A primary source is known as the original material that was created at any historical event. Moreover, it also denotes all such documents that are created by the observant of that particular subject. The medium of such sources can be anything like cartoons, paintings, manuscripts, and other types of written texts.  

Such documents include diaries, letters, speeches and all such write-ups written by people with their personal experience. Researchers and analysts can use all such sources to learn about any subject. It can be anything related to medical data, environmental science, laboratory results, and more. However, they can be challenging to find when compared with secondary sources. In such cases, you can you can take dissertation help for an effortless experience from us. Anyways, to know more about secondary sources, move to the following section.

What Is Secondary Source?

The principal purpose of secondary sources is to interpret the primary sources. Moreover, they are not the original source but can be used to evaluate the original one. They are published works, such as articles, journals, and other such documents. Such sources are used to assign values and to conclude conclusions about the event reported in the primary source type. They are crucial types of data that can be used for analysing existing information. Some common examples of this type of source include conference recordings, television documentaries, and more. However, most people do not know the difference between primary and secondary sources. But, they are entirely different, want to know about it? Worry not; the following section will help you.

Primary vs Secondary Sources | The Difference

Most students needs to learn the difference between secondary and primary sources and use these terms interchangeably. But this is not the case; they are two completely opposite terms. Thus, as a student, you must learn about their differences. Both of these sources serve different purposes and have different origins. Therefore, to know more about it, you must read the following pointers.

Information

The information present in primary sources provides direct and firsthand information. On the other hand, secondary sources consist of interpretations by people about the event. Therefore, both these documents consists of different information about the subject. The later does not gives the direct access of the information to the reader, but provides commentary to the researcher.

Objective

Primary sources are personal and subjective, providing firsthand information to the individual, while secondary sources are objective, providing the reader with an opportunity to evaluate the source. Moreover, evaluation can be done by asking questions about the information.

Function

Primary sources can not be modified as they are the source. On the other hand, secondary sources can be modified to provide one's analysis. You can mould the secondary source to describe, generalise and synthesise the original information. So, if you want to use these sources for your academics, you must run your document on plagiarism-checker before you finalise it.

The pointers above correctly explain the difference between primary and secondary sources. Thus, you must read this section properly to expand your learning. Now, to understand more about it, you can move to the next section to read the examples of both types of sources so you can use them in your academic documents like dissertations.

Examples of Primary & Secondary Source

In this section, we will explore some of the common examples of primary and secondary types of data. Learning about them will help you evaluate them in a better manner. Therefore, read this section properly and expand your horizon of knowledge with secondary and primary sources examples.

The above examples must have helped you analysing primary sources and secondary sources. Identifying them can be difficult, but with the above table, you must have understood them correctly. Moreover, you can also read each type of example on the web to get a better idea of them. It will help you identify which to use and when. So, move to the next section to learn how to cite these sources for academic purposes.

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How Do I Cite Primary & Secondary Sources?

Citation is considered crucial for referring and giving credit to the source. It also helps the reader to redirect to the place from which the information was taken. Therefore, it is crucial to learn about citing primary and secondary sources.

So, for citing primary sources, it is essential that you first identify the type of source you are using, whether it be a law document, newspaper, or more. Citations depend upon the type of document you need to cite. The next is to identify the type of citation style you will use. There are different styles, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, and more. Thus, after you know about what primary and secondary sources include, you can easily cite the references. Moreover, you can also use the citation tools available at our site for an effortless experience. But for that, you must know about the differences between the two types of sources. So, if you want to know how to identify them, you must move to the next section.

How to Tell If a Source Is Primary Or Secondary?

One of the common problems that is faced by students is, they struggle to identify whether it is a primary or a secondary source. It can be a bit challenging, as both of them have minor differences in them. So, for your assistance we have bought this section to inform you what primary and secondary sources include and how you can identify them. You can ask the following questions if you want to know about it.

• Does the source belong to someone who is directly involved (primary source), or does it come from some other source, like a researcher or analyst (secondary source)?

• Are you using the source to evaluate the original data (primary), or are you just gathering background information from it (secondary)?

• If the source provides original information about the event (primary) or just comments and interprets the original information (secondary).

The above are the three pointers that can help you identify if the source is primary or the secondary one. These questions are identified by the experts themselves, and they are tried and tested for the best results. So, now you know how to evaluate the sources, its is time to know what should be more preferable and why from the following section.

Which Source Should You Prefer and Why?

After reading the above description about both types of information sources, now you must wonder which source is preferable. A common question lingers in every reader's mind after they learn about these. So, it is common to have such thoughts, and good for you, we have the answer to it. In this section, you will learn what to prefer among them and when to use primary and secondary sources. 

Both types have their unique feature and a purpose to serve. But, deciding what source to use highly depends upon the type of research you are conducting. That is why it is crucial to identify your task's background and reason. When gathering data for any academic write-up, consider using primary sources. If you want to write an essay kind of document containing your interpretations, then you must use secondary sources. In this way, you can identify when and what source to use.

Know More About Sources with Our Assistance!

You must have understood both primary and secondary types of data. We have explained every bit of information required to learn about the difference between primary vs secondary sources. Thus, read this informative write-up to clear all your doubts. However, using such sources can be challenging, so that you can get our assistance at Global Assignment Help Australia. We can assist you in such a situation, as we have an expert staff of writers who can help you craft a flawless document. Moreover, you can get our assistance with any academic write-up you want. On Our platform has a staff of expert writers who are graduates of renowned universities. Thus, you must get our assistance rather than struggling with your tasks.

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