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Step 3. Evaluate Analyze information and sources
Web Sites | Primary v Secondary Sources | Types of Periodicals

When evaluating the quality of the information you are using, it is useful to identify if you are using a Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary source. By doing so, you will be able recognize if the author is reporting on his/her own first hand experiences, or relying on the views of others.

Primary Source The first person account by someone who experienced or witnessed an event. This original document has not been previously published or interpreted by anyone else.
Examples:

First person account of an event
First publication of a scientific study
Speech or lecture
Original artwork
Handwritten manuscript
Letters between two people
A diary
Historical documents, e.g. Emancipation Proclamation

Secondary Source
Secondary sources are one step removed from the primary original source. The author is reexamining, interpreting and forming conclusions based on the information that is conveyed in the primary source.
Examples:

Audience notes on a speech or lecture
Newspaper reporting on a scientific study
Review of a music CD or art show
Biography

Tertiary Tertiary sources are further removed from primary source. They lead the researcher to secondary source, rather than to the primary source.
Examples:

Bibliography
Index to articles
Library catalog