What is a primary source?

A primary source is a first-hand record or account. Primary sources may be reports of an event at (or around the) the time of the event. Primary sources are created by those who saw an event -- or by those who collected data themselves. Primary sources usually present discoveries, original thinking, or new information.

Primary does not mean "better." The term primary simply refers to the fact the information is written and recorded by someone's first-hand (primary) experience.

Examples include:

• diaries,
• personal journals,
• autobiographies,
• memoirs,
• speeches
• letters,
• newspaper accounts,
• interviews,
• oral histories,
• official records and statistics from government agencies and international organizations,
• scientific research articles reporting empirical studies, and
• eye-witness accounts (e.g., slave narratives, traveler accounts, etc.).