ENG2014 English for Business
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RESEARCH PAPER: USING SOURCES
Types of Sources
This section describes the distinctions between primary, secondary and tertiary research
sources. Note that “primary” and “secondary” in this document refer to their standard usage in
the classification of academic source material. These definitions are thus not equivalent to “the
main sources I plan on using” and “possible other things I might look at” (or similar
interpretations).
The ‘Nutshell’ Relationship of Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
Suppose you were beginning research on a wholly unknown topic. Your first step would be to
consult general references such as Wikipedia, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, etc. These are
examples of “Tertiary” sources – general explanations condensed from ‘common knowledge’
on the topic intended for a broad public audience. Tertiary sources are usually not credited to
a particular author. They are intended only to provide a superficial overview of what the topic
includes, its basic terminology, and often references for further reading (which would usually
be Secondary sources, produced by established ‘experts’ on the topic). You might use other
tertiary sources, such as dictionaries, to get a fuller sense of definitions and meanings of the
field’s terminology.
With a general concept of the topic now in mind, you would next consult as many different
secondary sources as possible to see what has already been written on the topic, at different
times and from different points of view, by other scholars (‘experts’ on the topic). “Secondary”
sources are thus works written on the topic in question by other researchers, whose work has
been based on Primary sources after consultation with the Secondary sources on the topic
which had existed at the time. The “Review of the Literature” component of full research papers
is precisely this wide-ranging review of what all known secondary sources currently say about
a given topic, as the foundation for the “new” information you plan to provide in your research.
For your own “new” view of the topic, guided by your review of what existing Secondary
sources already say, you would also consult Primary sources. Some of these may be the same
as other scholars have already consulted, some may be new that others had not consulted. Your
“new” research will usually identify new aspects of the topic which have emerged from your
study of primary sources that other scholars had either (a) not known to consult; or (b) consulted
but drew ‘false’ or ‘incomplete’ conclusions from (at least in your opinion).
In short, academic research is based primarily on the analysis of primary sources, guided by
perspectives on the topic which already exist via secondary sources. As tertiary sources only
provide general, simplified background on a topic, they would seldom be used in university-
level research or writing (unless, for example, what is normally a “tertiary” source is used in
the capacity of a “primary” source, as described below with the example of language students
comparing changing definitions over a series of dictionaries).
Academic Research is Based on Primary Sources
Academic research is based on primary sources: original ‘material’ from the field one is
studying, including books, articles and letters written by the people or in the field one is
studying, interviews with persons involved in the field, speeches and lectures which they
ENG2014 English for Business
delivered, diaries they kept, etc. Scholars consult primary sources in search of new material
and/or insights that have not previously been reported by other scholars, or have been reported
differently or perhaps even ‘mis-reported’ by other scholars. (The reporting by other scholars
would usually be a “secondary” source for that topic or field.)
For research in the Humanities, primary sources are usually original “records” which were
created at the time an historical event occurred (an “historical event” is any phenomenon or
procedure which has taken place [or is still taking place] in a particular time and place). Such
sources are the “raw material,” “first-hand information” or “original thinking” relevant to an
event. They include relevant records of the event, for example letters, photographs, diaries, or
speeches. Eyewitness accounts, contemporaneous journalistic reports, or even memoirs and
oral histories which are created well after the actual event can also be considered primary
sources.
We often think of primary sources as being written, but they may also be in other forms,
including interviews, recordings, paintings, or even computer software, e-mail correspondence
and web pages. Examples of primary sources include:
Personal papers
Letters (both personal and business)
Diaries and journals (both personal and business)
Photographs & paintings, sketches, original maps, etc.
Advertisements, posters, and banners
Memoirs
