A primary source is an immediate, first-hand account of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. Primary sources offer original thought and have not been modified by interpretation, meaning they are original materials, regardless of format. You may be able to identify a primary source if it is in one of these formats, although these are not the only way a primary source can be presented.
Remember that primary sources are not books or journal articles that provide secondary analysis, or describe something that happened somewhere else.
This section will provide you with a few online resources for ideas pertaining to creating your own primary source, in addition to providing you with further reading material about primary resources. As discussed earlier one form of primary sources are observations, original experiments, surveys, and interviews that you can conduct. The following sections will provide you with more details on how to conduct each of these methods for it to be considered a primary source.
Research interviews are an example of a primary source, it is a qualitative method that relies on asking a question (or interviewing) two or more people in order to collect data. Below you will find several resources to use to learn how to conduct a research interview for your primary resource.
Field observations are another way of producing a primary source, this is done by observing a person or persons in the context of the environment you wish to study in order to gain insights and data for your research. Below you will find a few helpful resources to help you get started on conducting your own field observations.
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