Page 24 - DLIS105_REFERENCE_SOURCES_AND_SERVICES

Unit 1: Reference and Information Sources

1.5.1 Primary Sources Notes

Some definitions of primary sources:
• Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based
• They are usually the first formal appearance of results in the print or electronic literature (for
example, the first publication of the results of scientific investigations is a primary source)
• They present information in its original form, neither interpreted nor condensed nor evaluated
by other writers
• They are from the time period (for example, something written close to when what it is
recording happened is likely to be a primary source)
• Primary sources present original thinking; report on discoveries, or share new information.

Some examples of primary sources:
• scientific journal articles reporting experimental research results
• proceedings of Meetings, Conferences and Symposia.
• technical reports
• dissertations or theses (may also be secondary)
• patents
• sets of data, such as census statistics
• works of literature (such as poems and fiction)
• diaries
• autobiographies
• interviews, surveys and fieldwork
• letters and correspondence
• speeches
• newspaper articles (may also be secondary)
• government documents
• photographs and works of art
• original documents (such as birth certificate or trial transcripts)
• Internet communications on e-mail, list serves, and newsgroups.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
8. Depending on their originality and their proximity to the source origin, source of informa-
tion generally categorised as:
(a) Primary (b) Secondary
(c) Primary, Secondary (d) Primary, Secondary or tertiary.
9. Diaries and Autobiographies are the examples of:
(a) Primary sources (b) Secondary sources
(c) Tertiary sources (d) Primary and Secondary.

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