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Primary Sources: Examples

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

ART
 
An original painting, artifacts Review and critique of the painting and the artifacts
LITERATURE
 
A novel, poem, short story, plays, diaries,
letters, memoirs, autobiographies
Criticism and analysis of these in a book or a periodical 
PSYCHOLOGY
 
Notes taken by a clinical psychologist about
a mental condition
Book on the mental condition
ENGINEERING
 
A patent Newspaper article or magazine article about the patent
HISTORY
 
A slave diary, eyewitness account Biography about the slave
BUSINESS
 
A logo, Patent Information about the logo and the patent
SCIENCE
 
Original experiments, lab studies, field research
reports
Review articles about those experiments
POLITICAL SCIENCE

 
Treaty, speech of the president, interview,
legislative bills
Analysis of the speech in a newspaper or a magazine
PERFORMING ARTS

 
A video of a play, a musical, a documentary Review of the film, the musical, the play or the
Documentary
THEATRE
 
A play Review of the play
MEDICINE & HEALTH

 
Original research published in a peer-reviewed
journal: cancer data, research about certain drugs,
studies about depression, obesity, etc.
Magazine or journal article reporting on the results of the
original research
WEB
 
Letters, emails, blogs, listservs, online discussion
groups
Periodical articles commenting or reviewing them