Dive into any topic and you will quickly learn how much information is out there and can feel overwhelming.  However, knowing the key differences in the types of sources and where they can be found will make research an easier and rewarding task. The first step is knowing what types of sources are required for the essay such as only using scholarly and peer-reviewed sources. This can quickly narrow down the amount of information to sift through. But let us look at the differences between scholarly versus general sources.

Popular, Professional, & Scholarly Sources

Considering the intended audience—how expert one has to be to understand the information—can indicate whether the source has sufficient credibility and thoroughness to meet your need.

Popular sources include magazines, and are written for a wide general audience.

Popular – Popular books, newspapers and magazines (such as The Washington Post, the New Yorker, and Rolling Stone) are meant for a large general audience, are generally affordable, and are easy to purchase or available for free. They are written by staff writers or reporters for the general public.

Additionally, they are:

• About news, opinions, background information, and entertainment.
• More attractive than scholarly journals, with catchy titles, attractive artwork, and many advertisements but no footnotes or references.
• Published by commercial publishers.
• Published after approval from an editor.

Scholarly sources are usually peer-reviewed.

Scholarly – Scholarly books and journal articles (such as Plant Science and Education and Child Psychology) are meant for scholars, students, and the general public who want a deep understanding of a problem or issue. Researchers and scholars write these articles to present new knowledge and further understanding of their field of study.

Additionally, they are:

• Where findings of research projects, data and analytics, and case studies usually appear first.
• Often long (usually over 10 pages) and always include footnotes and references.
• Usually published by universities, professional associations, and commercial publishers. They are often behind a “paywall,” which means that they’re not publicly accessible on the internet. Instead, they need to be accessed via a university library or similar institutional membership.
• Usually published after approval by peer review, which means that each article in the journal was evaluated by scholars with credentials similar to those of the author. Often, articles have undergone multiple rounds of revision based on peer review.

Professional sources are written for a narrow audience (people who work in a specific field), but don’t necessarily follow the standards of scholarly sources (such as peer review).

Professional – Professional publications (such as Plastic Surgical Nursing, HVAC & Refrigeration Insider, and Music Teacher) are meant for people in a particular profession, and are often accessible through a professional organization. Staff writers or other professionals in the targeted field write these articles at a level and with the language to be understood by everyone in the profession.

Additionally, they are:

• About trends and news from the targeted field, book reviews, and case studies.
• Often less than 10 pages, some of which may contain footnotes and references.
• Usually published by professional associations and commercial publishers.
• Published after approval from an editor.

Primary, Secondary & Tertiary Sources

• Firsthand information (information in its original form, not translated or published in another form).
• Secondhand information (a restatement, analysis, or interpretation of original information).
• Third-hand information (a summary or repackaging of original information, often based on secondary information that has been published).

The three labels for information sources in this category are, respectively, primary sources, secondary sources, and tertiary sources. Here are examples to illustrate the first- handedness, second-handedness, and third-handedness of information:

When you make distinctions between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, you are relating the information itself to the context in which it was created. Understanding that relationship is an important skill that you’ll need in college, as well as in the workplace. Noting the relationship between creation and context helps us understand the “big picture” in which information operates and helps us figure out which information we can depend on. That’s a big part of thinking critically, a major benefit of actually becoming an educated person.

Primary Sources – Because it is in its original form, the information in primary sources has reached us from its creators without going through any filter. We get it firsthand. Here are some examples that are often used as primary sources:

• Any literary work, including novels, plays, and poems.
• Breaking news.
• Diaries.
• Advertisements.
• Music and dance performances.
• Eyewitness accounts, including photographs and recorded interviews.
• Artworks.
• Data.
• Blog entries that are autobiographical.
• Scholarly blogs that provide data or are highly theoretical, even though they contain no autobiography.
• Artifacts such as tools, clothing, or other objects.
• Original documents such as tax returns, marriage licenses, and transcripts of trials.
• Websites, although many are secondary.
• Buildings.
• Correspondence, including email.
• Records of organizations and government agencies.
• Journal articles that report research for the first time (at least the parts about the new research, plus their data).

Secondary Source – These sources are translated, repackaged, restated, analyzed, or interpreted original information that is a primary source. Thus, the information comes to us secondhand, or through at least one filter. Here are some examples that are often used as secondary sources:

• All nonfiction books and magazine articles except autobiography.
• An article or website that critiques a novel, play, painting, or piece of music.
• An article or web site that synthesizes expert opinion and several eyewitness accounts for a new understanding of an event.
• The literature review portion of a journal article.

Tertiary Source – These sources further repackage the original information because they index, condense, or summarize the original.

Typically, by the time tertiary sources are developed, there have been many secondary sources prepared on their subjects, and you can think of tertiary sources as information that comes to us “third-hand.” Tertiary sources are usually publications that you are not intended to read from cover to cover but to dip in and out of for the information you need. You can think of them as a good place for background information to start your research but a bad place to end up. Here are some examples that are often used as tertiary sources:

• Almanacs.
• Dictionaries.
• Guide books, including the one you are now reading.
• Survey articles.
• Timelines.
• Bibliographies.
• Encyclopedias, including Wikipedia.
• Most textbooks.

Tertiary sources are usually not acceptable as cited sources in college research projects because they are so far from firsthand information. That’s why most professors don’t want you to use Wikipedia as a citable source: the information in Wikipedia is far from original information. Other people have considered it, decided what they think about it, rearranged it, and summarized it–all of which is actually what your professors want you, not another author, to do with information in your research projects.

The Details Are Tricky— A few things about primary or secondary sources might surprise you:

• Sources become primary rather than always exist as primary sources.It’s easy to think that it is the format of primary sources that makes them primary. But that’s not all that matters. So when you see lists like the one above of sources that are often used as primary sources, it’s wise to remember that the ones listed are not automatically already primary sources. Firsthand sources get that designation only when researchers actually find their information relevant and use it.For instance: Records that could be relevant to those studying government are created every day by federal, state, county, and city governments as they operate. But until those raw data are actually used by a researcher, they cannot be considered primary sources.Another example: A diary about his flying missions kept by an American helicopter pilot in the Viet Nam War is not a primary source until, say, a researcher uses it in her study of how the war was carried out. But it will never be a primary source for a researcher studying the U.S. public’s reaction to the war because it does not contain information relevant to that study.

• Primary sources, even eyewitness accounts, are not necessarily accurate. Their accuracy has to be evaluated, just like that of all sources.
• Something that is usually considered a secondary source can be considered a primary source, depending on the research project.For instance, movie reviews are usually considered secondary sources. But if your research project is about the effect movie reviews have on ticket sales, the movie reviews you study would become primary sources.

• Deciding whether to consider a journal article a primary or a secondary source can be complicated for at least two reasons.
  • First, journal articles that report new research for the first time are usually based on data. So some disciplines consider the data to be the primary source, and the journal article that describes and analyzes them is considered a secondary source. However, particularly in the sciences, the original researcher might find it difficult or impossible (he or she might not be allowed) to share the data. So sometimes you have nothing more firsthand than the journal article, which argues for calling it the relevant primary source because it’s the closest thing that exists to the data.
  • Second, even journal articles that announce new research for the first time usually contain more than data. They also typically contain secondary source elements, such as a literature review, bibliography, and sections on data analysis and interpretation. So they can actually be a mix of primary and secondary elements. Even so, in some disciplines, a journal article that announces new research findings for the first time is considered to be, as a whole, a primary source for the researchers using it.

Which to Use?

Determining which sources to keep will depend on the essay requirements, the topic, and your own scrutiny on which are best. Of course being as close to the primary source is best but there are times when secondary information is needed. One example is a literary analysis essay may include what other literary critics have already written about the book, or primary source. News articles might be needed to discuss the impact of a new dam being built. Secondary sources can offer different perspectives and ideas that we may not come to when only looking at the primary source.

However, using the primary source allows you to make your own judgements on the topic without being filtered through another’s perspective, and possibly discover something they missed. Primary sources also add credibility to your own writing. For example, in 2018 Rolling Stone  published an article on the environmental and health concerns caused by fracking, a controversial form of mining, as reported by a scientific paper. Rolling Stone’s writer paraphrases what can be found in that paper along with quotes from other experts within that industry. Now if you are writing an essay on fracking, what would be a more credible source to quote from to support your ideas: Rolling Stone or the scientific paper?

If you said the scientific paper, you are correct! While Rolling Stone publishes well-researched articles they are mainly known for being a music industry magazine. Your readers would question why the magazine is quoted as a source and not the first-hand, peer-reviewed paper. Using primary also adds credibility to your own writing.

For some extra review of primary and secondary sources, play this game below (note that you do not need to submit it).