Primary sources are sources based on your own research or are original works. Interviews, novels, the results of experiments, poetry, memoirs and other first-hand data are examples of primary sources. To use primary sources effectively you must present them in the context in which they occurred. For example, if your research paper focuses on women in the construction industry and you have an interview with a woman who has worked in the industry for years, you want to also include information about her background and experience. You can add depth and realism to your primary source by giving information about the interviewee's facial expressions, tone and body language.
As stated in the article "Primary vs. Secondary Sources," secondary sources offer analysis and interpretations of primary sources. In most research writing, the bulk of your support will come from secondary sources. Effective research in essay writing uses secondary sources to further illuminate a perspective or interpretation, but also leaves the reader or readers with further issues to consider. For example, if you're using secondary sources that discuss the challenges faced by women in the construction industry, you want to make sure that those sources relate to your primary sources, but also should include information that consider alternatives to the situation your primary sources or argument has presented.
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of using effective research in essay writing is in synthesizing sources. Synthesis in the research paper involves merging the ideas you've presented with the ideas of others through the usage of relevant sources. According to the article "Genre and the Research Paper," by Jack Raymond Baker and Allen Brizee, "the research paper serves not only to further the field in which it is written, but also to provide the student with an exceptional opportunity to increase her knowledge in that field." Effective research in essay writing gives both the writer and reader the chance to learn something new, or to reconsider an already-held belief or perspective.