Primary Source: A firsthand account or original document created during the time period you're studying. Examples include:
* Diaries: Personal accounts of events.
* Letters: Correspondence between individuals.
* Speeches: Directly recorded words of someone.
* Photographs: Images captured at the time of an event.
* Government Documents: Official records, laws, treaties.
* Original Research Data: Scientific findings, experimental results.
Secondary Source: A work that analyzes, interprets, or discusses primary sources. Examples include:
* Biographies: Accounts of a person's life, often drawing on primary sources.
* Historical Textbooks: Summaries and interpretations of historical events.
* Scholarly Articles: Analysis of research findings, often using primary sources.
* News Articles: Reports on current events, often based on interviews with primary sources.
When a book IS a primary source:
* Autobiographies: Written by the person themselves about their own life.
* Original Works of Literature: Poems, novels, plays written during a specific time period.
* Memoirs: Personal reflections on events, usually written later in life.
When a book IS NOT a primary source:
* History Books: Even if they use primary sources, they are secondary sources because they are interpretations and analyses of those sources.
* Literary Criticism: Analyses of works of literature.
* Biographies written by others: These are secondary sources because they are not firsthand accounts.
In short: Whether a book is a primary source depends on its content and purpose.