Prof. Palmer: Archival Research using the Cañada College Archives

Examples of primary sources:

• Autobiographies and memoirs
• Diaries, personal letters, and correspondence
• Interviews, surveys, and fieldwork
• Internet communications on email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups
• Photographs, drawings, and posters
• Works of art and literature
• Books, magazine and newspaper articles and ads published at the time
• Public opinion polls
• Speeches and oral histories
• Original documents (birth certificates, property deeds, trial transcripts)
• Research data, such as census statistics
• Official and unofficial records of organizations and government agencies
• Artifacts of all kinds, such as tools, coins, clothing, furniture, etc.
• Audio recordings, DVDs, and video recordings
• Government documents (reports, bills, proclamations, hearings, etc.)
• Patents
• Technical reports
• Scientific journal articles reporting experimental research results

Examples of secondary sources

Secondary sources offer an analysis, interpretation or a restatement of primary sources and are considered to be persuasive. They often involve generalization, synthesis, interpretation, commentary or evaluation in an attempt to convince the reader of the creator's argument. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.

Examples of secondary sources include:

• journal articles that comment on or analyse research
• textbooks
• dictionaries and encyclopedias
• books that interpret, analyse
• political commentary
• biographies
• dissertations
• newspaper editorial/opinion pieces
• criticism of literature, art works or music