Secondary source — English definition
Defined in 2 courses:
- A source that analyzes or comments on primary sources, such as a textbook or a news analysis. (English 10: Choices, Conscience & Consequences)
- A work that analyzes, interprets, or comments on primary material rather than presenting it firsthand. (English 12: Complex Texts, Independent Inquiry & Public Voice)
Where it is taught
- Evaluating Sources & Bias — Research & Source-Based Writing, English 9: Experience, Perspective & Inquiry, Grade 9
- Evaluating Sources — Research & Source-Based Writing, English 10: Choices, Conscience & Consequences, Grade 10
- Synthesizing Complex Sources — Research & Source-Based Writing, English 12: Complex Texts, Independent Inquiry & Public Voice, Grade 12
In use
A secondary source is someone else's analysis of that material — a textbook chapter, a documentary, a news article that interprets the data.
Evaluating Sources & Bias
A secondary source is someone else's analysis of that material — a textbook chapter, a documentary, a news article interpreting the data.
Evaluating Sources
A secondary source stands one step back, interpreting that firsthand material: a scholar's article about the ruling, a critic's reading of the novel.
Synthesizing Complex Sources
Questions using secondary source
Problem 1
Answer and explanation
A primary source is firsthand, like a soldier's diary written during a war; a secondary source analyzes that event afterward, like a historian's book that references and interprets several diaries and records.
Problem 2
Answer and explanation
A primary source is firsthand or original, like a scientist's raw experimental data or original lab notes; a secondary source analyzes or interprets that material afterward, like a science journalist's article or a textbook summarizing the discovery. The primary source is the evidence itself; the secondary source is someone's interpretation of it.
Problem 3
- A soldier's own wartime diary is a secondary source.
- A historian's book analyzing why a war began is a primary source.
- A newspaper editorial counts as a primary source only when it supports your thesis.
- A dataset of election returns is a primary source, while a scholar's article interpreting those returns is a secondary source.
Answer and explanation
A dataset of election returns is a primary source, while a scholar's article interpreting those returns is a secondary source.
A primary source is firsthand material (raw election returns); a secondary source interprets it (the scholar's article). A diary is primary, a historian's analysis is secondary, and whether an editorial agrees with you has nothing to do with its type.