How can secondary evidence be reliable

Asking these six questions or rather these 5 Ws and an H questions will safeguard the accuracy of your data and research. More importantly, taking these steps will protect your business reputation with clients, colleagues, the media, and others. Criteria for evaluating secondary data sources The aforementioned list consists of resources that are almost universally trusted and vetted. Interested to know more about our research? Check out our free downloads.

Subscribe to Our Blog. Market Trends and Opportunities, 2nd Edition More It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. History Resources: Home - Primary vs. Secondary Sources This page provides curriculum, materials, and information resources related to United States History and the U.

Home - Primary vs. What is a Primary Source? Questions: 1. What are the Author: Title, and: Date of publication: for this document? TEDx History Videos.

Many subjects available, including lesson plans. Finding Primary Sources Online When searching online for primary sources, the trick is not so much to use different search engines — you may go to many of your usual sources — but you may want and need to adjust the construction of your search query or terms. Finding Primary Sources Online Some hints for constructing a primary sources query. Report a problem. Subjects: History , New York City , primary sources , scholarly journal articles.

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Intro Primary vs. Evaluating Primary Sources Primary sources are the foundations of histories.

Who was the author and who was the audience of the primary source? Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles , reviews, essays , and textbooks. Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source. Some types of source are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications e.

If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source. Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. Always make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism. A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context.

If you are directly analyzing some aspect of the movie itself — for example, the cinematography, narrative techniques, or social context — the movie is a primary source. If you use the movie for background information or analysis about your topic — for example, to learn about a historical event or a scientific discovery — the movie is a secondary source.

Articles in newspapers and magazines can be primary or secondary depending on the focus of your research. In historical studies, old articles are used as primary sources that give direct evidence about the time period. In social and communication studies, articles are used as primary sources to analyze language and social relations for example, by conducting content analysis or discourse analysis.

If you are not analyzing the article itself, but only using it for background information or facts about your topic, then the article is a secondary source. I'm just trying to get my head around primary and secondary sources, specifically for the type of essay I am needing to write. I am looking at analysing an album and talking about the different musical techniques within this. From the examples above, a lot of what I'm looking at seem to be secondary, but I need to include primary sources too.

I'm a bit confused as to what would be classed as a primary source for my specific essay topic. Based on what you've said, it sounds like the album you're analysing would be your main primary source for this essay! It's not always necessary to have multiple different primary sources, or to worry too much about what category each source falls into, as long as your essay fulfils the demands of the assignment you're given.

If you're confused about what would count as a primary source in the context of your studies, it may be best to ask a supervisor to clarify. Have a language expert improve your writing. Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes.