RLG101H5: Introduction to the Study of Religion

Definition

A primary source is a document that was created at the time of the event or subject you have chosen to study, or by people who were observers of, or participants in that event or topic.

The medium of the primary source can be anything, including written texts, statistics, objects, buildings, films, paintings, cartoons, etc. What makes the source a primary source is when it was made, not what it is.

Definition

Books written by scholars about a topic are secondary sources.

Scholars' introductions to, analyses of, and editorial comments on collections of primary documents are also secondary sources.

• first-hand accounts of event
• materials created by participants or witnesses of the event/s under study
• original records created at the time that events occurred
• raw data

• works that discuss a subject, but which are written after the time that the event/s occurred (by someone other than an eyewitness)
• works that contain explanations/interpretations/analysis/judgments/discussions of past events