Secondary Sources 

• Secondary sources often analyze primary sources to argue/ support a thesis statement.
• Secondary sources interpret the significance or meaning of an historical event or phenomenon; person; a movement; or a place.
• Secondary sources are often created by someone not present when the event took place or removed from the event.
• Secondary sources are produced and disseminated in a variety of formats including books, scholarly journal articles, conference proceedings, dissertations, documentaries, and reference works.

How do we find secondary sources in the library?

When evaluating primary and secondary sources, ask the following questions:

• Who is the author?
• When was it published?
• Where was it published?
• Is the source based on an eyewitness account or a personal experience?
• Is the source based on an interpretation or analysis of source material written by others?
• Is the source from the time period you are studying or written years after the event?

​One can often find primary sources listed in the footnotes and bibliographies of secondary sources such as books and journal articles.