Primary source

How it is used

A basic term in history teaching and research. Students analyse, use and cite primary sources, and essays are judged on how well they handle them. What counts as primary depends on the question: a 1950s textbook is a primary source for how history was taught in the 1950s.

Example sentences

1. Her thesis is based on primary sources from the Ottoman court records of Bursa.

2. For this assignment, use at least three primary sources and explain who produced each one.

Common collocations

• analyse primary sources
• a primary source document
• rely on primary sources
• published primary sources

Related terms

• secondary sourceA work that discusses or interprets the past using other evidence and was written after the events, such as a history book, journal article or biography.
• archiveA collection of historical records kept for long-term use, or the building or institution where such records are stored and made available to researchers.
• evidenceInformation from sources, objects or data that helps show whether a claim about the past is true, or how likely it is.
• source criticismThe careful evaluation of a historical source to judge where it came from, who made it and why, and how reliable and useful it is for a particular question.
• manuscriptA book or document written by hand, especially one produced before printing became common; also an author's text before it is published.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• primary source · Academic English & Research

More terms: Sources and Archives

• bias
• census
• chronicle
• oral history
• inscription
• provenance
• archivist