Types of Resources
You should be starting out your speech just like Ashley: by gathering information and conducting research. Research is investigating a subject to learn the facts about that subject. You will encounter two types of resources when conducting your research for a topic: primary and secondary resources. A primary resource is a personal account of an event or an experiment that you arrange or documents written by people who were part of the original event. A secondary resource is a resource that is a compilation of primary data or analysis that was presented somewhere else first.
Types of resources:
- Observation and personal experiences
- Interviews
- Surveys
- Objects
- Original documents
- Books
- Newspapers
- Periodicals
- Academic journals
- Encyclopedias
- Statistical sources (almanacs or abstracts)
- Biographies
- Government publications
- Internet resources
Ashley has an interview, a survey, and research from her library's database. But which of these are primary resources and which are secondary resources? Let's talk about primary resources first.
Primary Resources
A good way to remember the definition of primary source is to think about the source of the information: is it you or someone else? If you are the primary, or the first, person with this information, then it is likely a primary source.
For example, if you use a personal experience in your speech to clarify or illustrate one of your main points, then this would be an example of a primary resource. Or, let's say you make an observation, such as the sound a tornado makes when it was near, then your observation would be a primary resource because you are the one that experienced the situation.
Let's say you are conducting an interview. The interview transcript would be a primary source because you are the first person that experienced the interview. However, if you were reading about an interview or watching an interview online, then that would be a secondary source because you did not conduct the interview on your own. The interview that Ashley conducted for her speech would be considered a primary resource because she has had a first-hand account of this information. She is the person that conducted the interview; therefore, she is the primary source for this information.
Original documents are also a type of primary source because you are citing the information from the original, or primary, source. Let's say you were doing a speech about the Great Depression and you found a letter that one of your relatives wrote that lived during that time. The letter would be a primary source because it's the original piece of information. However, if you were reading a book about the Great Depression that was written based on a collection of letters from that time period, then the book would be a secondary source because someone else created that book based on the original documents.
An object can also be considered a primary source. Let's say you were to give a demonstration or speech about how to play a guitar. You bring in your Stratocaster guitar and show the audience the different pieces and parts of that guitar. You may have learned this information in the past from someone else, but pointing out the different pieces and parts of this object would be considered original research and would therefore be a primary resource. However, if you were doing research for a speech on ancient Egypt and began describing a piece of pottery or artwork that you read about online, then the online source would be a secondary resource.
Surveys and experiments also serve as primary resources so long as you are the one that writes and conducts the survey or the experiment. If you are citing research or a survey that someone else conducted, then that would be considered a secondary resource. Ashley distributed a survey to her classmates; therefore, she is the primary or original person to obtain this information from her classmates. This research would be considered a primary resource.
Secondary Resources
A good way to remember a secondary source is to think about the origin of the information. Did you gather the research or gather the information or did someone else? If the information you are gathering came from someone other than yourself or you aren't the first person to cite this information, then it is probably a secondary source. Think of second person when you think of secondary resources.
Much of your research will come from secondary resources. The following is a list of secondary sources:
- Books
- Newspapers
- Periodicals
- Academic journals
- Encyclopedias
- Statistical sources (almanacs or statistical abstracts)
- Biographies/autobiographies
- Government publications
- Internet resources
Primary or Secondary?
Now that you understand the difference between primary and secondary resources, let's practice identifying each by helping Ashley out with her research.
Example 1
Ashley finds an interesting article in an academic journal while she is researching for her speech. The article discusses the pollution to the environment that occurs as a result of fish farming. Ashley wants to include this information in her speech.
Is this a primary or secondary resource?
Right, this is a secondary resource because the research comes from another person. An academic journal also appears on our list of secondary resources.
Example 2
Ashley visits a local fish farm. She observes several dead fish being pulled out from the tank; the farmer explains that the fish had sea lice, which has spread to the other fish in the farm. She wants to include this imagery in her speech.
Is this a primary or secondary resource?
This is a primary resource. Since Ashley conducted the research on her own, it is considered a primary resource. Remember, since Ashley's the first, or primary, person to be in contact with this particular research, then the resource is considered primary.
Lesson Summary
You will encounter two types of resources when conducting your research for a speech: primary and secondary resources. A primary resource is a personal account of an event or experiment that you arrange or documents written by people who were part of the original event.
A secondary resource is a resource that is a compilation of primary data or analysis that was presented somewhere else first. The best way to remember the differences between primary and secondary resources is to consider the source of the information. Did you do the research or gather the information? Did someone else? If the information you are gathering came from someone other than yourself or you aren't the first person to cite this information, then it's probably a secondary source.
Learning Outcomes
After you have finished with this lesson, you should be able to:
- Define primary and secondary resources
- Explain how to determine whether a source is primary or secondary
- Identify examples of primary and secondary resources
