Does the source provide original information (primary) or evaluate other sources (secondary)? Or does it only summarize or catalog information from other sources (tertiary)?Īlthough tertiary sources are often credible, they’re not typically attributed to a single author and don’t provide the specialized knowledge expected of scholarly sources.Am I analyzing the source itself or using it for background information?.To determine whether a source is tertiary, ask: The key difference between a tertiary source and a primary or secondary source is that the tertiary source does not provide any original insights or analysis.īut what constitutes a tertiary source depends on your research problem and how you use the source.įor example, while encyclopedias are typically considered tertiary sources, a research paper focusing on the development of encyclopedic writing since 1900 might use encyclopedia entries as direct evidence and therefore as primary sources. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, manuals, and textbooks provide definitions and overviews of a topic based on primary and secondary sources.Bibliographies, databases, directories, indexes, and timelines are tertiary sources that do not provide much textual insight, but rather organize relevant information and help you to find other sources, such as primary and secondary sources.Tertiary sources provide a wide range of helpful information, including key terms, definitions, lists of relevant sources, and broad overviews. Try for free Examples of tertiary sources This means that while you might use them to learn more about a topic you’re new to, you’re unlikely to cite them in your paper. Instead, they collect, index, and provide an overview of primary and secondary sources. Tertiary sources do not provide original insights or analyses. You will mainly use primary and secondary sources, as these provide information that you can analyze or use to formulate your own ideas and arguments. Tertiary sources: These are reference works that list other kinds of sources and provide background information (e.g., encyclopedias and dictionaries).Secondary sources: These interpret or analyze information from primary sources (e.g., books and journal articles).Primary sources: These provide direct evidence about the topic of your research question (e.g., newspapers, diary entries, and photographs). There are three types of research sources:
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