When doing research, it is important to have a variety of different types of resources. If you try to rely only on primary sources you will miss out on a great deal of information. Secondary sources are one step removed from a primary source and generally interpret, describe, explain, or evaluate primary sources. Most secondary sources draw conclusions from a number of different primary sources. These conclusions are formed by the study of the artifacts combined with the author’s interpretation of those artifacts. Some examples of these include:- Academic article written on a narrowly focused topic
- An analysis of a particular artifact or group of artifacts
- Critiques and reviews of artwork, literature, performances, etc.
- Histories
- Biographies
- Some textbooks
- Any other interpretation of primary sources
Secondary sources typically do not come from the same time period as the artifacts themselves, but this is not always the case. A theatre critic from the 16th century might have written a review of Shakespeare’s latest play, which would be a secondary source for that play. The review itself however could be seen as a primary source when studying theatre critics of the 16th century. This then obviously leads one to wonder how something can be both a primary and secondary source at the same time. This really just depends on your viewpoint, what you are researching, and how you are using the source. A photograph of an artifact in a paper written about that artifact is a primary source, while the paper itself is a secondary source. The same can be said for things like a published book of period letters or documents. The book itself is a secondary source but the contents of the book are a collection of primary sources.Secondary sources are important because they can give very useful information about both the primary source itself and the time period during which it was produced. For example you can learn a great deal by looking at a painting (a primary source), but without an analysis of the paint used (a secondary source), how would you be able to replicate it? Secondary sources can be quite a boost to any research because other people's study and analysis can save you time and get you started off in the right direction.