Primary, secondary or tertiary information which will you need to complete your research.

1. Source Selection

2. What type of information do you need
for this topic?
Once you have formulated
a topic question you can
determine the type of
information that’s needed
to develop a theme.

3. Primary
This is firsthand information.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
is primary information. It was
written by Lincoln himself.
It contains his thought’s
about the situation.

4. Primary Source Examples
They can come in many forms.
• Diaries
• Speeches
• Photographs
• Letters
• Manuscripts
• Oral Histories
• Political Cartoons
• Sheet Music
• Sound Recordings
• Motion Pictures
• Maps
• Other
A primary resource provides direct, first-
hand, evidence of the topic under
investigation

5. Secondary
This is secondhand information.
A book written commenting on
the historical importance of
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is
an example of a secondary
source.
It contains another person’s
reflections after the fact of the
speech.

6. Secondary Source Examples
They can come in many forms.
• Books about an event
• Commentaries
• Dissertations
• Biographies
• Indexes
• Abstracts
• Journal Articles
A secondary source is something written about
a primary source event. It provides analysis,
critique or interpretation of the topic under
investigation.

7. This is thirdhand information.
An article on the Gettysburg Address
in an encyclopedia is a tertiary
resource.
It contains information about the
speech in a brief form.
Tertiary

8. Tertiary Source Examples
They can come in many forms.
• Almanacs
• Digests
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Fact books
• Pathfinders
• Overviews
• Guide Books
• Overviews
A tertiary source provides the bare
facts without analysis, critique or
interpretation of the topic under
investigation.

9. Confused?
It’s simple.
For background information you use
tertiary sources.
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Guides
• Fact books
The sources provide thirdhand
information discussing the bare facts.

10. It’s Easy!
Primary and secondary sources
are items you’ll use in
constructing your research.
They provide firsthand access
to the original events and the
secondhand reflection upon
the events.

11. We’ll answer the question
“Where do you start?”