Is letter a primary or secondary source?

Yes, a letter is a primary source. A letter can be used as a primary source in a number of different scenarios. You may have already come across our information about primary and secondary sources, and the differences between them.

Is a photograph a primary or secondary source?

What are primary sources? Primary sources are materials from the time of the person or event being researched. Letters, diaries, artifacts, photographs, and other types of first-hand accounts and records are all primary sources.

What is a secondary research article?

Secondary sources were created by someone who did not experience first-hand or participate in the events or conditions you’re researching. For a historical research project, secondary sources are generally scholarly books and articles. A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources.

How do you criticize a secondary source?

Writing Critiques of Primary and Secondary SourcesKeep each critique short. A few sentences are often sufficient and it should be no more than a paragraph.“Critique” in this case does not mean that you have to be negative about the source. Use your own argument to help you choose how and where to focus your critique.

Is a critique a secondary source?

Secondary sources analyze primary sources, using primary source materials to answer research questions. Secondary sources may analyze, criticize, interpret or summarize data from primary sources. The most common secondary resources are books, journal articles, or reviews of the literature.

What makes a primary source credible?

To produce sound historical research, we need reliable primary sources. Records created at the same time as an event, or as close as possible to it, usually have a greater chance of being accurate than records created years later, especially by someone without firsthand knowledge of the event.