Wikipedia:Identifying and using primary sources: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:19, 21 September 2011

Revision as of 05:01, 22 September 2011

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==Are newspapers secondary or primary sources?==

One rough rule of thumb for identifying primary sources is this: if the source is noticeably closer to the event than you are, then it's a primary source. For example, if an event occurred on January 1, 1800, and a newspaper article appeared about it the next day, then historians considers the newspaper article a primary source.

Wikipedia fairly often writes about current events. As a result, an event may happen on Monday afternoon, may be written about in Tuesday morning's newspapers, and may be added to Wikipedia just minutes later.

However, Wikipedia fairly often writes about current events. As a result, an event may happen on Monday afternoon, may be written about in Tuesday morning's newspapers, and may be added to Wikipedia just minutes later. Some editors—especially those with no training in historiography—incorrectly call these newspaper articles "secondary sources".

These kinds of media reports are primary sources:

* ''Eyewitness news:'' The television [[news presenter]] stands in front of a burning house and describes the fire. The newspaper journalist describes the scene of a major car wreck that his editor sent him to.

* ''Breaking news:'' The wire service announces that a prominent politician has been taken to the hospital. The weather service says that a tornado has touched down.

* ''Reports on events:'' The newspaper journalist describes the discussions from a meeting of the local school agency. The radio announcer reports the arrest of an alleged criminal.

* ''Human interest stories:'' The magazine publishes a touching story about a child with a congenital heart defect. The society column in the newspaper reports the birthday of a prominent local citizen.

These kinds of media reports are usually secondary sources: