{"id":554,"date":"2017-04-03T21:15:05","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T21:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=554"},"modified":"2017-04-13T18:33:56","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T18:33:56","slug":"primary-secondary-tertiary-sources","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/chapter\/primary-secondary-tertiary-sources\/","title":{"raw":"Primary, Secondary &amp; Tertiary Sources","rendered":"Primary, Secondary &amp; Tertiary Sources"},"content":{"raw":"<div id=\"attachment_937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 260px\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_937\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"250\"]<img class=\"wp-image-937 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1547\/2017\/04\/03155525\/transform-1.png\" alt=\"An arrow showing transformation from a black rectangle to a white rectangle.\" width=\"250\" height=\"192\" \/> Another way to categorize information is by whether information is in its original format or has been reinterpreted.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nAnother information category is publication mode, which has to do with whether the information is in its original form, a restatement or interpretation of original information, or something that summarizes original information.\r\n\r\nInformation may be a:\r\n\r\n<strong>Primary Source<\/strong>\u2014Information in its original form, which is not translated by anyone else and has not been published elsewhere. Such as:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>A play<\/li>\r\n \t<li>A novel<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Breaking news<\/li>\r\n \t<li>An advertisement<\/li>\r\n \t<li>An eyewitness account<\/li>\r\n \t<li>A painting<\/li>\r\n \t<li>A report about a scientific discovery<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<strong>Secondary Source<\/strong>\u2014Repackaged, restatement, or interpretation of primary information. Such as:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>A book about an historical event<\/li>\r\n \t<li>An article that critiques a novel, play or painting<\/li>\r\n \t<li>An article or web site that summarizes and synthesizes several eyewitness accounts for a new understanding of an event.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<strong>Tertiary Source<\/strong>\u2014An index or something that condenses or summarizes information. Such as:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Almanacs<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Guide books<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Survey articles<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Timelines<\/li>\r\n \t<li>User guides<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Encyclopedias<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nPrimary sources include those that can answer your research questions and convince your audience that your answer is the correct one or at least a reasonable one. However, in our discussion of mode, it\u2019s important to recognize that academic disciplines vary in what kinds of sources they consider primary sources. In other words, different disciplines accept different sources as those that can speak with authority\u2014as those that can meet the information needs of answering your research question and convincing your audience your answer is correct or at least reasonable.\r\n\r\nFor instance, in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences, peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles are considered the most authoritative. But in the arts, it is the art itself\u2014for instance, the painting, the choral performance, the hip-hop dancing done on the street\u2014that speaks most convincingly. That doesn\u2019t mean you could never use a video of a hip-hop dancer in a project for sociology or other social science. But if you did, it would not be to answer your research question or to convince your audience you have the right answer. It would be to meet another information need\u2014for instance, to describe the situation surrounding your research question for your audience or convince them it is important.\r\n\r\nIf you haven\u2019t been able to tell what sort of sources your instructor considers able to answer your research questions and convince your audience, do ask him or her. It\u2019s an important question, and he or she will probably be impressed that you know enough to ask it.\r\n<div class=\"activity\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n<h3><strong>Activity:<\/strong> Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary?<\/h3>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/library.osu.edu\/blogs\/choosingsources\/files\/2016\/07\/primsectert.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Open activity in a web browser.<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 260px\">\n<div id=\"attachment_937\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-937\" class=\"wp-image-937 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1547\/2017\/04\/03155525\/transform-1.png\" alt=\"An arrow showing transformation from a black rectangle to a white rectangle.\" width=\"250\" height=\"192\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-937\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Another way to categorize information is by whether information is in its original format or has been reinterpreted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Another information category is publication mode, which has to do with whether the information is in its original form, a restatement or interpretation of original information, or something that summarizes original information.<\/p>\n<p>Information may be a:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Primary Source<\/strong>\u2014Information in its original form, which is not translated by anyone else and has not been published elsewhere. Such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A play<\/li>\n<li>A novel<\/li>\n<li>Breaking news<\/li>\n<li>An advertisement<\/li>\n<li>An eyewitness account<\/li>\n<li>A painting<\/li>\n<li>A report about a scientific discovery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Secondary Source<\/strong>\u2014Repackaged, restatement, or interpretation of primary information. Such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A book about an historical event<\/li>\n<li>An article that critiques a novel, play or painting<\/li>\n<li>An article or web site that summarizes and synthesizes several eyewitness accounts for a new understanding of an event.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Tertiary Source<\/strong>\u2014An index or something that condenses or summarizes information. Such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Almanacs<\/li>\n<li>Guide books<\/li>\n<li>Survey articles<\/li>\n<li>Timelines<\/li>\n<li>User guides<\/li>\n<li>Encyclopedias<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Primary sources include those that can answer your research questions and convince your audience that your answer is the correct one or at least a reasonable one. However, in our discussion of mode, it\u2019s important to recognize that academic disciplines vary in what kinds of sources they consider primary sources. In other words, different disciplines accept different sources as those that can speak with authority\u2014as those that can meet the information needs of answering your research question and convincing your audience your answer is correct or at least reasonable.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences, peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles are considered the most authoritative. But in the arts, it is the art itself\u2014for instance, the painting, the choral performance, the hip-hop dancing done on the street\u2014that speaks most convincingly. That doesn\u2019t mean you could never use a video of a hip-hop dancer in a project for sociology or other social science. But if you did, it would not be to answer your research question or to convince your audience you have the right answer. It would be to meet another information need\u2014for instance, to describe the situation surrounding your research question for your audience or convince them it is important.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t been able to tell what sort of sources your instructor considers able to answer your research questions and convince your audience, do ask him or her. It\u2019s an important question, and he or she will probably be impressed that you know enough to ask it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"activity\">\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<h3><strong>Activity:<\/strong> Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary?<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/library.osu.edu\/blogs\/choosingsources\/files\/2016\/07\/primsectert.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Open activity in a web browser.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-554\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Choosing &amp; Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Teaching &amp; Learning, Ohio State University Libraries. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The Ohio State University. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/osu.pb.unizin.org\/choosingsources\/\">https:\/\/osu.pb.unizin.org\/choosingsources\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":20,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research\",\"author\":\"Teaching & Learning, Ohio State University Libraries\",\"organization\":\"The Ohio State University\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osu.pb.unizin.org\/choosingsources\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-554","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":918,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1355,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/554\/revisions\/1355"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/918"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/554\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=554"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=554"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}