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Primary Sources are your objects of study. They are different from secondary sources, which are accounts or interpretations created by other people.
The type of primary source changes dependent on your field of study, application, and interpretation of the source. This guide provides advice on how to find primary sources inside and outside the SSU library.
| Discipline | Primary Source | Secondary Source |
|---|---|---|
| Art | Original artwork | Article, book, or film critiquing the artist or artwork |
| History | Narrative of an event (letter, diary, newspaper article) | Article, book or film summarizing a historical event and its aftermath |
| Literature | Novel | Article, book, or film critiquing or analyzing the novel or writer |
| Music | Song | Article, book, or film critiquing or analyzing the song or artist |
| Theater | Film of a performance | Review of a performance |
| Science | Data collected from an original study | Analysis of data collected |
| Psychology | Psychologists' notes about a clients | A book summarizing symptoms of a disorder |