What is the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary sources?
Answer
Primary sources are original documents created during the time period being studied. For example: letters from WW II soldiers, a Civil War diary, original photographs--items that you might find in a museum or archive.
Secondary sources are publications written to analyze or interpret a primary source, often providing commentary or historical background. Biographies, literary criticisms and dissertations are secondary sources.
Tertiary sources give overviews and synthesize information from primary and secondary sources. Dictionaries, textbooks and encyclopedias are tertiary sources.