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Jackman Scholars-in-Residence ~ The Art and Science of Museum Objects and Seeing Potential: Asking/Investigating/Exhibiting the Malcove Collection

This guide is intended for those enrolled in the 2019 iteration of the Jackman Institute for Humanities Scholars in Residence Program working with Dr. Alen Hadzovic and Dr. Erin Webster.

Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources

Why Should I use Primary Sources?

Primary sources provide a window into the past—unfiltered access to the record of artistic, social, scientific and political thought and achievement during the specific period under study, produced by people who lived during that period.

Primary sources provide the opportunity to witness a piece of history up close, and to see it through the eyes of those who lived it.

First-hand accounts of an historic event allow you to form reasoned conclusions, base conclusions on evidence, and connect primary sources to the context in which they were created, synthesizing information from multiple sources.

Adapted from the Library of Congress, "Using Primary Sources"

Why Should I use Secondary Sources?

Secondary sources complement primary sources: a secondary source can bring clarification and deeper understanding to a primary source.

A historian who has expertise in a specific time period can provide contextual information through a secondary source that allows a student to maximize his/her appreciation of the primary source's value.

Adapted from the Library of Congress, "Using Primary Sources"

Three ways to find primary sources:

1. Start with what you already have: to uncover references to primary sources.

2. Use the library catalogue to find books and other materials.

3.  Use online text databases, such as the ones in this research guide.

4.  Use the special collections in U of T libraries, such as the Digital Scholarship Unit at UTSC Library or the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.

Definitions & Examples

What is a Primary Source?

Primary sources are documents or physicial objects that were created during the time under study.

Primary sources: 

  • offer a first hand account/inside view of a particular event
  • include materials created by participants or witnesses of the event(s) under study
  • original records created at the time the historical events occurred
  • raw data for the historian

They can include:

Documents

Diaries, Speeches,  manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records, laws, speeches, treaties, diplomatic dispatches, wills, contracts, memoirs, religious records, etc. 

Creative Works                                      Works of art, drama, music, literature
Objects/artifacts Buildings, jewellery, furntiure, pottery, items of everyday usage

What is a Secondary Source?

Secondary sources interpret primary sources, and are written after an event or historical period has taken place.

Secondary sources are:

  • 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/judgements/discussions of past events
  • works that explain or interpret primary sources

They can include:

Publications                    Textbooks, magazine articles, histories, criticisms, commentaries, encyclopedias

Adapted from Princeton University Library and  Memorial University Libraries