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  • Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Published on June 20, 2018 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on May 31, 2023.

When you do research, you have to gather information and evidence from a variety of sources.

Primary sources provide raw information and first-hand evidence. Examples include interview transcripts, statistical data, and works of art. Primary research gives you direct access to the subject of your research.

Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary from other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and academic books . Thus, secondary research describes, interprets, or synthesizes primary sources.

Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but good research uses both primary and secondary sources.

Table of contents

What is a primary source, what is a secondary source, primary and secondary source examples, how to tell if a source is primary or secondary, primary vs secondary sources: which is better, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about primary and secondary sources.

A primary source is anything that gives you direct evidence about the people, events, or phenomena that you are researching. Primary sources will usually be the main objects of your analysis.

If you are researching the past, you cannot directly access it yourself, so you need primary sources that were produced at the time by participants or witnesses (e.g. letters, photographs, newspapers ).

If you are researching something current, your primary sources can either be qualitative or quantitative data that you collect yourself (e.g. through interviews , surveys , experiments ) or sources produced by people directly involved in the topic (e.g. official documents or media texts).

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books secondary sources

A secondary source is anything that describes, interprets, evaluates, or analyzes information from primary sources. Common examples include:

  • Books , articles and documentaries that synthesize information on a topic
  • Synopses and descriptions of artistic works
  • Encyclopedias and textbooks that summarize information and ideas
  • Reviews and essays that evaluate or interpret something

When you cite a secondary source, it’s usually not to analyze it directly. Instead, you’ll probably test its arguments against new evidence or use its ideas to help formulate your own.

Examples of sources that can be primary or secondary

A secondary source can become a primary source depending on your research question . If the person, context, or technique that produced the source is the main focus of your research, it becomes a primary source.

Documentaries

If you are researching the causes of World War II, a recent documentary about the war is a secondary source . But if you are researching the filmmaking techniques used in historical documentaries, the documentary is a primary source .

Reviews and essays

If your paper is about the novels of Toni Morrison, a magazine review of one of her novels is a secondary source . But if your paper is about the critical reception of Toni Morrison’s work, the review is a primary source .

Newspaper articles

If your aim is to analyze the government’s economic policy, a newspaper article about a new policy is a secondary source . But if your aim is to analyze media coverage of economic issues, the newspaper article is a primary source .

To determine if something can be used as a primary or secondary source in your research, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself:

  • Does this source come from someone directly involved in the events I’m studying (primary) or from another researcher (secondary)?
  • Am I interested in evaluating the source itself (primary) or only using it for background information (secondary)?
  • Does the source provide original information (primary) or does it comment upon information from other sources (secondary)?

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Most research uses both primary and secondary sources. They complement each other to help you build a convincing argument. Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but secondary sources show how your work relates to existing research. Tertiary sources are often used in the first, exploratory stage of research.

What do you use primary sources for?

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

  • Make new discoveries
  • Provide credible evidence for your arguments
  • Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered unoriginal or unreliable.

What do you use secondary sources for?

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often synthesize a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

  • Gain background information on the topic
  • Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas
  • Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access directly (e.g. private letters or physical documents located elsewhere)

When you conduct a literature review or meta analysis, you can consult secondary sources to gain a thorough overview of your topic. If you want to mention a paper or study that you find cited in a secondary source, seek out the original source and cite it directly.

Remember that all primary and secondary sources must be cited to avoid plagiarism . You can use Scribbr’s free citation generator to do so!

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

  • ChatGPT vs human editor
  • ChatGPT citations
  • Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
  • Using ChatGPT for your studies
  • What is ChatGPT?
  • Chicago style
  • Paraphrasing

 Plagiarism

  • Types of plagiarism
  • Self-plagiarism
  • Avoiding plagiarism
  • Academic integrity
  • Consequences of plagiarism
  • Common knowledge

Common examples of primary sources include interview transcripts , photographs, novels, paintings, films, historical documents, and official statistics.

Anything you directly analyze or use as first-hand evidence can be a primary source, including qualitative or quantitative data that you collected yourself.

Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles , reviews, essays , and textbooks.

Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source. If a source gives you an overview of background information or presents another researcher’s ideas on your topic, it is probably a secondary source.

To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

  • Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?
  • Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?
  • Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary)?

Some types of source are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications (e.g. letters, interviews ). If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source.

Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. However, it’s up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.

Always make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism .

A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context.

If you are directly analyzing some aspect of the movie itself – for example, the cinematography, narrative techniques, or social context – the movie is a primary source.

If you use the movie for background information or analysis about your topic – for example, to learn about a historical event or a scientific discovery – the movie is a secondary source.

Whether it’s primary or secondary, always properly cite the movie in the citation style you are using. Learn how to create an MLA movie citation or an APA movie citation .

Articles in newspapers and magazines can be primary or secondary depending on the focus of your research.

In historical studies, old articles are used as primary sources that give direct evidence about the time period. In social and communication studies, articles are used as primary sources to analyze language and social relations (for example, by conducting content analysis or discourse analysis ).

If you are not analyzing the article itself, but only using it for background information or facts about your topic, then the article is a secondary source.

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Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources: A Quick Guide: Secondary Sources

  • Primary Sources
  • Secondary Sources
  • Tertiary Sources

What is a Secondary Source?

Secondary sources are books, periodicals, web sites, etc. that people write using the information from primary sources. They are not written by eyewitnesses to events, for instance, but use eyewitness accounts, photographs, diaries and other primary sources to reconstruct events or to support a writer's thesis about the events and their meaning. Many books you find in the Cornell Library Catalog are secondary sources.

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Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Sources

  • Source Types
  • Primary Sources
  • Secondary Sources
  • Tertiary Sources
  • Examples by Discipline

What are secondary sources?

Secondary sources depend upon primary sources. Secondary sources describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. The important thing to keep in mind when trying to decide if a source is primary or secondary is whether or not the author did the thing they are reporting on. If they did, it is a primary source; if they did not, it is a secondary source.

What is the role of secondary sources in research?

Secondary sources represent the scholarly conversation that has taken place, or is currently taking place, on a given topic. Thus, it is imperative that researchers acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the secondary literature on their topic to be able to then engage with it and offer their own perspective through their writing. Scholars show their deep knowledge of their topic by demonstrating in their writing their awareness of secondary literature. Research that does not include substantial references to both primary and secondary sources is not likely to be authoritative or reliable. For that reason, looking at the listed references in a piece of research can help you determine its value.

What are some examples of secondary sources?

Like primary sources, secondary sources can be lots of different kinds of resources depending on discipline and application. Secondary sources can be:

  • Journal articles
  • Monographs (books written on a single subject)
  • Newspaper or magazine articles
  • Book or movie reviews 

In the sciences, secondary sources tend to be things like literature reviews (synthesized descriptions of previous scholarship on a topic), systematic reviews (overviews of primary sources on a topic), or meta analyses (studies in which conclusions are drawn from consideration of systematic reviews).

In the humanities, secondary sources tend to be journal articles that discuss or evaluate someone else's research, monographs, or reviews. 

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3. Secondary Sources for Historians

Books as Secondary Sources

Books or Monographs [1]

The book remains the standard means of written communication for historians. Secondary source books provide analysis and interpretation of primary sources and other secondary works.

“The standard type of secondary book in history is the scholarly nonfiction monograph. Intended for an academic audience, it is an extensive, in-depth discussion of a topic.” [2]

Another type of secondary source book is an edited collection of essays on one topic by many different historians.

Because of their length, books are able to “thoroughly examine large topics intensively, make extended arguments, and raise many questions around a diversity of issues.” [3]

Reading books for research

There will be books that you will need to read cover-to-cover to understand a historian’s argument thoroughly. At other times you may just need to understand a portion of an argument contained within a book. If this is the case, be sure to read the introduction and conclusion and the section relevant to your question so that you can situate the author’s argument. You can use the table of contents and index to identify the sections of a book that meet your research needs. By examining a variety of monographs you will develop a better understanding of the questions historians have asked about your topic.

Catalogs contain descriptive listings of books contained within a collection. Locating books, print and electronic, will be discussed in a later chapter.

  • This chapter is derived from: Jenny L. Presnell, The Information-literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History Students, 3rd ed. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019), Chapter 3. ↵
  • Jenny L. Presnell, The Information-literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History Students, 3rd ed. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019), 52. ↵
  • Jenny L. Presnell, The Information-literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History Students, 3rd ed. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019), 53. ↵

Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research Copyright © 2015 by Teaching & Learning, Ohio State University Libraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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2.4: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources

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Another information category is called publication mode and has to do with whether the information is:

  • Firsthand information (information in its original form, not translated or published in another form).
  • Secondhand information (a restatement, analysis, or interpretation of original information).
  • Thirdhand information (a summary or repackaging of original information, often based on secondary information that has been published).

The three labels for information sources in this category are, respectively, primary sources, secondary sources, and tertiary sources . Here are examples to illustrate the first- handedness, second-handedness, and third-handedness of information:

When you make distinctions between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, you are relating the information itself to the context in which it was created. Understanding that relationship is an important skill that you’ll need in college, as well as in the workplace. Noting the relationship between creation and context helps us understand the “big picture” in which information operates and helps us figure out which information we can depend on. That’s a big part of thinking critically, a major benefit of actually becoming an educated person.

As a reminder, recall one of the frames of the Framework for Information Literacy is Authority is Constructed and Contextual . Information does not occur in a vacuum, but within a context that impacts its meaning. Part of that context will be how you as an information consumer will process the different facets in which that information exists. So, with this in mind, recognize that primary sources as defined below are not cut and dried, nor black or white. For example, to a historian, an image or a representation of a piece of sculpture might be considered a primary source for the purposes of historical analysis; however, to a sculpture or an archaeologist, anything short of the physical piece of sculpture itself would not be considered a primary source. So, in this case, the “context” to consider is how the source of information itself is perceived by a particular discipline (history vs. sculpture or archaeology). More on this below when we consider the “format” of a source.

Primary Sources – Because it is in its original form, the information in primary sources has reached us from its creators without going through any filter. We get it firsthand. Here are some examples that are often used as primary sources:

  • Any literary work, including novels, plays, and poems.
  • Breaking news (first formal documentation of event–remember the Information Cycle).
  • Advertisements.
  • Music and dance performances.
  • Eyewitness accounts, including photographs and recorded interviews.
  • Blog entries that are autobiographical.
  • Scholarly blogs that provide data or are highly theoretical, even though they contain no autobiography.
  • Artifacts such as tools, clothing, or other objects.
  • Original documents such as tax returns, marriage licenses, and transcripts of trials.
  • Websites, although many are secondary.
  • Correspondence, including email.
  • Records of organizations and government agencies.
  • Journal articles that report original research for the first time (at least the parts about the new research, plus their data).

Secondary Source – These sources are sources about the sources, such as analysis or interpretation of the original information, the primary source. Thus, the information comes to us secondhand, or through at least one filter. Here are some examples that are often used as secondary sources:

  • Nonfiction books and magazine articles except autobiography.
  • An article or website that critiques a novel, play, painting, or piece of music.
  • An article or web site that synthesizes expert opinion and several eyewitness accounts for a new understanding of an event.
  • The literature review portion of a scholarly journal article.

Tertiary Source – These sources further repackage the original information because they index, condense, or summarize the original.

Typically, by the time tertiary sources are developed, there have been many secondary sources prepared on their subjects, and you can think of tertiary sources as information that comes to us “third-hand,” that is, pre -processed. Tertiary sources are usually publications that you are not intended to read from cover to cover but to dip in and out of for the information you need. You can think of them as a good place for background information to start your research but a bad place to end up. Here are some examples that are often used as tertiary sources, which are also considered “reference sources” in the library world:

  • Dictionaries.
  • Guide books, like the MLA Handbook
  • Survey articles.
  • Bibliographies.
  • Encyclopedias, including Wikipedia.
  • Most textbooks, including the one you are now reading.

Tertiary sources are usually not acceptable as cited sources in college research projects because they are so far removed from firsthand information. That’s why most professors don’t want you to use Wikipedia as a citable source: the information in Wikipedia is far from original information. Other people have considered it, decided what they think about it, rearranged it, and summarized it–all of which is actually what your professors want you , not another author, to do with information in your research projects.

The Details Are Tricky — A few things about primary or secondary sources might surprise you:

  • Sources have the potential of becoming primary rather than always exist as primary sources.

It’s easy to think that it is the format of primary sources that makes them primary. But that’s not all that matters. When you see lists like the one above of sources that are often used as primary sources, it’s wise to remember that the ones listed are not automatically already primary sources. Firsthand sources get that designation only when researchers actually find their information relevant and use it.

For instance: Here is an illustration of the frame, Authority is Constructed and Contextual. Records that could be relevant to those studying government are created every day by federal, state, county, and city governments as they operate. But until the raw data are actually used by a researcher, they cannot be considered primary sources. How this data is used is what gives these sources the designation, and authority, as primary sources.

Another example that references the frame, Authority is Constructed and Contextual : A diary about his flying missions kept by an American helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War is not a primary source until, say, a researcher uses it in her study of how the war was carried out. But it will never be a primary source for a researcher studying the U.S. public’s reaction to the war because it does not contain information relevant to that study.

  • Primary sources, even eyewitness accounts, are not necessarily accurate. Their accuracy has to be evaluated, just like that of all sources.
  • Something that is usually considered a secondary source can be considered a primary source, depending on the research project and the context in which something is used .

Here is another example where the context of the use of the source dictates whether or not the source is primary or secondary. For instance, movie reviews are usually considered secondary sources. But if your research project is about the effect movie reviews have on ticket sales, the movie reviews you study would become primary sources.

  • Deciding whether to consider a journal article a primary or a secondary source can be complicated for at least two reasons.

First, scholarly journal articles that report new research for the first time are usually based on data. So some disciplines consider the data to be the primary source, and the journal article that describes and analyzes them is considered a secondary source.

However, particularly in the sciences, the original researcher might find it difficult or impossible (he or she might not be allowed) to share the data. So sometimes you have nothing more firsthand than the journal article, which argues for calling it the relevant primary source because it’s the closest thing that exists to the data.

Second, even scholarly journal articles that announce new research for the first time usually contain more than data. They also typically contain secondary source elements, such as a literature review, bibliography, and sections on data analysis and interpretation. So they can actually be a mix of primary and secondary elements. Even so, in some disciplines, a journal article that announces new research findings for the first time is considered to be, as a whole, a primary source for the researchers using it.

ACTIVITY: Under What Circumstances?

Instructions: Look at each of the sources listed below and think of circumstances under which each could become a primary source. (There are probably many potential circumstances for each.) So just imagine you are a researcher with projects that would make each item firsthand information that is relevant to your work. What kind of project would make each of the following sources relevant firsthand information? Our answers are at the bottom of the page, but remember that there are many more–including the ones you think of that we didn’t!

  • Fallingwater, a Pennsylvania home designed and constructed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930s.
  • Poet W.H. Auden’s elegy for Y.S. Yeats.
  • An arrowhead made by (Florida) Seminole Native Americans but found at Flint Ridge outside Columbus, Ohio.
  • E-mail between the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, and her staff about North Korea.
  • A marriage license.

Despite their fluidity, what primary sources usually offer is too good not to consider using because:

  • They are original. This unfiltered, firsthand information is not available anywhere else.
  • Their creator was a type of person unlike others in your research project, and you want to include that perspective.
  • Their creator was present at an event and shares an eyewitness account.
  • They are objects that existed at the particular time of the project you are studying.

Particularly in humanities courses, your professor may require you to use a certain number of primary sources for your project. In other courses, particularly in the sciences, you may be required to use only primary sources.

What is considered primary and secondary sources can vary from discipline to discipline. If you are required to use primary sources for your research project, before getting too deep into your project, check with your professor to make sure he or she agrees with your choices. After all, it’s your professor who will be grading your project. A librarian, too, can verify your choices. Just remember to take a copy of your assignment with you when you ask, because the librarian will want to see the original assignment. After all, that’s a primary source!

POSSIBLE AnswerS TO ACTIVITY: Under What Circumstances?

  • You are doing a study of the entrances Wright designed for homes, which were smaller than other architects of the time typically designed entrances.
  • Your research project is about the Auden-Yeats relationship.
  • Your research project is about trade among 19th century Native Americans east of the Mississippi River.
  • Your research project is on how Ambassador Haley conveyed a decision about North Korea to her staff.
  • You are writing about the life of a person who claimed to have married several times, and you need more than her statements about when those marriages took place and to whom.
  • Hirsh Health Sciences
  • Webster Veterinary

General History Guide

  • Getting Started
  • Reference Sources
  • Primary Sources by Region
  • Primary Sources by Topics
  • Print Primary Sources

Databases and Indexes of Scholarly Literature

Print books in the library, secondary sources.

What is a secondary source?

 A secondary source is a scholarly discussion based on primary sources. Typically, a secondary source contains original research.

Why should I use secondary sources?

Secondary sources are useful for in-depth analysis of your topic and for learning about scholarly perspectives on your topic. You can use a secondary source as a conversation partner about a topic or you can take the methodology from a secondary source an apply it to a new research question.

What are some examples of secondary sources?

Secondary sources include articles, blogs, books (often called monographs), lectures, podcasts, and scientific reports. Any kind of scholarly liter can be a secondary source.

Pro tip:  Although the distinction between primary sources and secondary sources is useful, it is not absolute. A secondary source may become a primary source depending on the researcher's perspective. Consider a textbook on American history from the 1990's. If a researcher uses the textbook for a scholarly perspective on the civil rights movement, then it is a secondary source. However, if the researcher uses the textbook to as evidence of curriculum in the 1990's, then it is a primary soruce.

  • Academic Search Premier Multi-disciplinary | Index and some full text | Scholarly literature
  • AfricaBib.org African studies | Index | Journal articles
  • America: History & Life History of United States and Canada | Index and some full text | Scholarly literature
  • Arts & Humanities Citation Index Multi-disciplinary | Index and citation tracker | Scholarly literature
  • Arts & Humanities Database Multi-disciplinary | Index and some full text | Scholarly literature
  • HAPI Online Focus on Central and South America | Index and some full text | Scholarly literature
  • Historical abstracts World history excluding North America | Index and some full text | Scholarly literature
  • JSTOR Multi-disciplinary | Index and some full text | Scholarly literature
  • Scopus Multi-disciplinary | Index and citation tracker | Journal articles
  • ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) Multi-disciplinary | Index and some full text | Dissertations and theses
  • Race Relations Abstracts Interdisciplinary focus on race and ethnicity | Index and some full text | Scholarly literature
  • Middle East and Africa Database Focus on the Middle East and Africa | Index and some full text | Scholarly and popular literature

Browsing the library stacks can be a useful way of finding relevant resources. The following is a guide to how history books are organized in the library stacks according to the Library of Congress system. For more complete details, see the Library of Congress Classification Outline .

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Secondary sources   are the published work of scholars specializing in the topic. Secondary sources include scholarly books, articles, and essays (both analyses by contemporary scholars as well as older analyses), surveys, criticism, comparative studies, reference sources, and works on theory and methodology; this is also termed the secondary literature . Eventually you will need to decide which interpretation makes the most sense to you and seems consistent with your primary sources, or if you wish to offer a new interpretation. 

When we talk about secondary sources, most of the time we are referring to published scholarship on a subject, rather than supplemental material (bibliographies, encyclopedias, handbooks, etc.). Secondary literature is published in both book form and as articles in periodicals, either in print or digital format. (Digital format includes both reproduction of print material online and original e-text.) This scholarship is analytical and interpretive. It may synthesize the work of other historians to present a totally new interpretation. More likely, it offers a new reading of previously analyzed sources or presents an analysis of previously unknown sources.

Hence, you use secondary sources to identify the main currents of thought on your topic . Which historians have taken up this topic and what were their main arguments? How has our understanding of the subject changed with shifts in the predominant methodologies and theoretical perspectives in the historical profession?

To identify secondary literature, you can search the  online library catalog  to find books or search  article databases and online bibliographies  to find journal articles, book chapters, dissertations and more. Some useful article databases for history are:

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  • L'Année philologique This link opens in a new window Online searchable database comprised of the print index begun in 1928 by Jules Marouzeau. Vols. 20- of the original print index are currently, with earler vols. to be digitized in the future. Indexes periodical articles as well as articles in collections and conference papers in classics and classical studies. Covers Greek and Latin linguistics and literature and Greek and Roman archaeology, history, mythology, religion, epigraphy, numismatics and palaeography: all aspects of the ancient Mediterranean world.
  • Brepolis Medieval and Early Modern Bibliographies This link opens in a new window The Brepolis Medieval and Early Modern Bibliographies are multidisciplinary bibliographies of Europe, North Africa and the Near East (300-1500), founded in 1967 with the aim of providing a comprehensive, current bibliography of articles in journals and miscellany volumes (conference proceedings, essay collections or Festschriften) worldwide. The bibliographies comprise 365,000 articles, all of which are fully classified by date, subject and location, and provide full bibliographical records.
  • Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more. Provides indexing of more than 1,700 academic historical journals in over 40 languages back to 1955. more... less... Alternate Access Link
  • America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window Index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. The database indexes journals from 1964 to present and includes citations and links to book and media reviews. more... less... Alternate Access Link
  • Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI) This link opens in a new window Contains citations to articles in more than 400 scholarly journals published in Latin America or treating Latin American and U.S. Hispanic topics.
  • Bibliography of Asian Studies This link opens in a new window This on-line version of the Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) contains 787,165 records on all subjects (especially in the humanities and the social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide from 1971 to the present... In addition to entries compiled since 1997, the online BAS includes the full data of all of the printed volumes of the BAS issued from the 1971 up to the 1991 volumes (published in 1997)... Through the 1991 printed volume, the BAS included citations to Western-language periodical articles, monographs, chapters in edited volumes, conference proceedings, anthologies, and Festschriften, etc. Monographs published since 1992, however, have not been added to the database, and users seeking such monographs are urged to consult other general resources and databases such as WorldCat.. more... less... Alternate Access Link
  • American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies This link opens in a new window Covers North American scholarship on East-Central Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet Union. Contains bibliographic records for journal articles, books and book chapters, book reviews, dissertations, online resources, and selected government publications. more... less... Alternate Access Link

Additional suggestions can be found in the research guides created for history classes and special topics .

You can also consult book-length bibliographies , either general overviews such as the American Historical Association Guide to Historical Literature, or specialized bibliographies such as  The Harvard Guide to African-American History .

You can use the article databases listed above to look for review essays (also called review articles ) in which a historian who specializes in the subject analyzes recent scholarship; you may find helpful overviews that appear as chapters in collections, journal articles, or even monographs by using the keyword historiography or historiographic ; you can read about the topic in a subject encyclopedia and look at the bibliography at the end of the entry; and you can find a major work of scholarship on the topic and follow up on the sources used by the author ( footnote tracking ).

Most of the time you will find the secondary literature you need by using the online catalog, the appropriate article databases, subject encyclopedias or bibliographies, and by consulting your instructor.

Most academic research today is at least somewhat interdisciplinary . For historians, theories and methods are sometimes borrowed from other disciplines such as philosophy, literary criticism, and anthropology.

Furthermore, the publications compiled in the service of other disciplines very often serve as valuable source material for historians .

Check these links for helpful introductions to research resources for related disciplines:

African American Research Center

Online Resources for Religious Studies

Philosophy Library Resource Guide

Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL) :

  • American Indian Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Asian American Studies
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Community/Public Health
  • Gender & Women's Studies
  • Geography & Geographic Information Science
  • Library & Information Science
  • Political Science
  • Recreation, Sport & Tourism
  • Social Work

International and Area Studies Library

Literatures and Languages Library (includes Classics Collection)

Map Library

Music and Performing Arts Library

Ricker Architecture and Art Library

Funk (ACES) Library

  • Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES)
  • City Planning and Landscape Architecture
  • Prairie Research Institute
  • Agricultural Communications Documentation Center
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  • Last Updated: Feb 6, 2024 1:02 PM
  • URL: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/historicalresearch

HIST495 Introduction to Historical Interpretation (History Honors)

  • Getting Started
  • Consulting Reference Materials for Overview/Background Information
  • Finding Primary Sources

What are Secondary Sources?

Evaluating sources, core secondary source databases, subject specific article databases:, multidisciplinary full-text article databases for articles and books, dissertations.

  • Locating Book Reviews
  • Writing Literature Reviews
  • Creating an Annotated Bibliography
  • Strategies for Building Your Bibliography
  • Special Collections and Archives Outside of the US
  • Rose Library, Emory University and Other Archives Within Georgia
  • Writing & Citing
  • Library Assignments

Secondary sources provide an analysis and interpretation of historical events based on primary sources. Examples include:

  • encyclopedias
  • historical dictionaries
  • edited volumes
  • dissertations
  • biographies

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF:

  • Have you used a variety of sources?  Compare and contrast the information you find with several authors and and array of sources such as books, journal articles, and dissertations. Comparing and contrasting information will help you identify any bias and enhance the validity and reliability of your research.
  • What are the author's qualifications and affiliation (i.e., where does the author work)?
  • What is the date of the publication? Is the information out-of-date for your topic?
  • Who's published it?  Is it a university press -- in which case the material is more likely to be scholarly?  Is the publisher of a website an educational institution (.edu site) or a commercial or organizational entity (.com or .org site) -- which may give you insight into potential biases?
  • Is the information valid and well-researched?  That is, are the author's ideas supported with research documented by footnotes, a bibliography, and/or a works cited page?

Getting Started with Your Search for Articles : Modern history research will generally require one or both of the following databases.  They can be searched simultaneously or separately:

  • America: History and Life This link opens in a new window Prominent source for scholarly journal articles, book reviews, and dissertations in U.S. & Canadian history. Covers sources published from the 1960s to present.
  • Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window Access scholarly journal articles, books reviews, and dissertations in modern world history (1450 to present) excluding the U.S. and Canada. Covers sources published from 1955 to present.

Subject Specific Article Databases: If you would like to search article databases in your research areas, please click on one or more of the subject guide links below relevant to your research area.

  • Article Databases from the African American Studies Research Guide
  • Article Databases from the African Studies Research Guide
  • Article Databases from the East Asian Studies Research Guide
  • Article Databases from the European History Research Guide
  • Article Databases from the Latin American & Caribbean Studies Research Guide
  • Article Databases from the South Asian Studies Researh Guide
  • Article Databases from the United States History Research Guide
  • Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Provides indexing and abstracts for thousands of journals and other publications. Access broad ranging resources that include full-text journals, monographs, reports, conference proceedings, and video content from the Associate Press etc. more... less... Access broad ranging resources that include full-text journals, monographs, reports, conference proceedings, and video content from the Associated Press, etc.
  • JSTOR This link opens in a new window Access a wide variety of journal articles in the humanities and other disciplines. more... less... Note: You may not be able to access the most current 2–7 years of certain journals—but many of these recent publications are found in Project MUSE.
  • Project MUSE This link opens in a new window Includes the most recently published output of many major scholarly journals. Covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, cultural studies, education, political science, and more.
  • ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (A&I) This link opens in a new window Official digital archive of the Library of Congress and the database of record for graduate research. Search citations to dissertations and theses from around the world from 1861 to present day, and access full text dissertations.
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Primary Sources: A Research Guide

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Primary Sources

Texts of laws and other original documents.

Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did.

Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote.

Original research.

Datasets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics.

Photographs, video, or audio that capture an event.

Secondary Sources

Encyclopedias

Secondary Sources are one step removed from primary sources, though they often quote or otherwise use primary sources. They can cover the same topic, but add a layer of interpretation and analysis. Secondary sources can include:

Most books about a topic.

Analysis or interpretation of data.

Scholarly or other articles about a topic, especially by people not directly involved.

Documentaries (though they often include photos or video portions that can be considered primary sources).

When is a Primary Source a Secondary Source?

Whether something is a primary or secondary source often depends upon the topic and its use.

A biology textbook would be considered a secondary source if in the field of biology, since it describes and interprets the science but makes no original contribution to it.

On the other hand, if the topic is science education and the history of textbooks, textbooks could be used a primary sources to look at how they have changed over time.

Examples of Primary and Secondary Sources

Adapted from Bowling Green State University, Library User Education, Primary vs. Secondary Sources .

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Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

Search catalog, what are the differences.

Sources of information or evidence are often categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary material. These classifications are based on the originality of the material and the proximity of the source or origin. This informs the reader as to whether the author is reporting information that is first hand or is conveying the experiences and opinions of others which is considered second hand. Determining if a source is primary, secondary or tertiary can be tricky. Below you will find a description of the three categories of information and examples to help you make a determination.

Primary Sources

These sources are records of events or evidence as they are first described or actually happened without any interpretation or commentary. It is information that is shown for the first time or original materials on which other research is based.  Primary sources display original thinking, report on new discoveries, or share fresh information.

Secondary Sources

These sources offer an analysis or restatement of primary sources. They often try to describe or explain primary sources. They tend to be works which summarize, interpret, reorganize, or otherwise provide an added value to a primary source.

Tertiary Sources

These are sources that index, abstract, organize, compile, or digest other sources. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered tertiary sources when their chief purpose is to list, summarize or simply repackage ideas or other information. Tertiary sources are usually not credited to a particular author.

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American History: Find Secondary Sources (scholarly articles & books)

  • Find Secondary Sources (scholarly articles & books)
  • Find Primary Sources

Library Catalog

The Library Catalog is almost always the most useful place to start history research because:

  • It will help you find primary AND secondary sources
  • The library has a wealth of resources that have been selected by your professors and librarians 
  • Library Catalog This link opens in a new window You can also access the Library Catalog via the Books link on the library webpage.

Find Articles (History Quick Search)

Find Articles and Book Chapters: 

The search box above will lead you to articles in JSTOR, Project Muse, Academic Search Complete, and other scholarly research databases.

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  • URL: https://researchguides.wcu.edu/americanhistory

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How to Read Historical Documents: Reading Secondary Sources

  • Reading Primary Sources
  • Reading Secondary Sources

What are secondary sources?

Secondary sources offer interpretation or commentary on primary sources. They are the “product” of historians doing history - a part of historians’ ongoing discussion or debate about the past. Secondary sources, therefore, can be argued with, criticized, or defended against criticism. Examples of secondary sources include:

  • Monographs (Scholarly books)
  • Biographies
  • Commentaries
  • Critical works
  • Documentaries
  • Peer-reviewed journals

How to Read Secondary Sources

"A historian working on a particular subject is expected to show a thorough knowledge of the work of other historians in that field. They will be expected to show how their work stands in relation to these other accounts, in terms of their methodology, interpretations and use of sources." 1

Mark Donnelly and Claire Norton, Doing History (New York : Routledge, 2011), 68.

When reading secondary sources - some general suggestions:

Understand the author’s argument . What is the author's thesis? What previous historical arguments or interpretations is the author trying to refute or expand upon?

Understand the context in which the historian was writing.   Does the historian's time period have bearing on her interpretations? Does the historian's geographical location have an influence on his work?  Does the historian subscribe to a particular school of thought or methodology?

Understand the sources used. All history is based on primary sources. How deep and well-rounded is the body of sources the author used? If the sources were all written from one point of view, for example, this weakens any argument that the historian can make.

When reading books as secondary sources

Read the title. Think about what the title promises for the book.

Look at the table of contents . This is your "menu" for the book. What can you tell about its contents and structure from the TOC?

Read the book from the outside in. Read the foreword and introduction. Read the conclusion or epilogue.

Ask yourself what the author's thesis might be . How has the argument been structured? This will be a key to your understanding of the rest of the argument.

Read chapters from the outside in . Quickly read the first and last paragraph of each chapter. After doing this and taking the step outlined above, you should have a good idea of the book's major themes and arguments. You should be able to identify if all the book is important to read or if you can focus on certain chapters.

Do a close reading of the important chapters and take notes . Record your thoughts about the reading rather than simply the details and contents of the text. What surprised you? What seemed particularly insightful? What seems suspect? What reinforces or counters points made in other readings? This kind of note taking will keep your reading active, and actually will help you remember the contents of the text.

When reading scholarly articles as secondary sources

Read the introduction and discussion/conclusion . These sections offer the main argument and hypothesis of the article. What is the author's thesis? How is this research unique?

Read the literature review . In the literature review you will find the background and context for the current study. What is already known about this topic and what original interpretation does the author state s/he will contribute to the topic?

Read the author's main argument . Does the author support their conclusions with primary sources? Are the primary sources balanced? Did the author analyze the sources critically or simply reflect the positions/conclusions of the sources? Were the author’s biases, prejudices, and values evident?  What were they?  Do they seem to have distorted the account and analysis, or did the author successfully present a reasonably balanced work of scholarship?

 Re-read the conclusion . What contribution does the work make?  Does it provide readers with something important and new in either findings or interpretations?  How does the work fit into larger historiographical debates?  Does it provide an argument for or against a scholarly interpretation?  Does it move debates in new directions?

When reading any secondary source, ask yourself:

What gaps or deficiencies remain in the scholarship on this topic? (Sometimes the author's conclusion specifies remaining gaps).

Do you agree with the author's interpretation, but you believe you can contribute more evidence or additional arguments to support the interpretation?

Do you disagree with the author's interpretation due to a logical flaw, lack of evidence, biased evidence or additional/newly discovered evidence?

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Reference management. Clean and simple.

What is a secondary source?

books secondary sources

How do I know if my material is a secondary source?

How do i find secondary sources, why do i need secondary sources, do i need to cite secondary sources, frequently asked questions about secondary sources, related articles.

Secondary sources are sources that describe an event but did not originate in the time period they describe. They were created by someone based on firsthand accounts. They are the second time the event has been described or depicted. In most cases, secondary sources are books or scholarly articles.

➡️  What is a primary source?

If your point of reference is a book, an article, or an overview of an event, the chances are that it is a secondary source. These texts will have a bibliography and a list of references. This bibliography will include the works that inspired the research, or were quoted within the text itself. Examples of secondary sources are:

  • An overview of an event written by someone who did not witness the event
  • Reviews of books/pieces of art
  • A commentary
  • Encyclopedias

These guides can provide more clarification on secondary sources and cases where things are not 100% clear:

➡️  Is an Encyclopedia a primary or secondary source?

➡️  Is a documentary a secondary source?

➡️  Is a textbook a secondary source?

Secondary sources are a lot easier to come by than primary sources. Secondary sources will help you find introductory information about your research. Encyclopaedia entries are secondary sources, and so are commentaries, reviews, and criticisms.

Any material which summarizes research undertaken by someone else is a secondary source. A project you complete, if consulted by someone else and used in their research, is a secondary source.

Secondary sources will provide you with different ideas and standpoints about the subject you are researching. Each text will have its own bias and will look at the subject from a different angle, so by reading secondary sources you are engaging with multiple interpretations of the same event.

This broad reading gives you a solid foundation to analyze the event/text/object while acknowledging the bias and outlook of research professionals. By engaging in the reading of secondary sources, you are also backing up your arguments with the support of well-known experts in the field. Without reading secondary sources, you cannot be sure if your argument is valid, or if you are plagiarizing.

Yes! Without a shadow of a doubt, yes. Secondary sources are written by people who are arguing for or against the point you are making. You also need to reference where you got your ideas and quotes from. If you are paraphrasing, you need to reference where you are paraphrasing from.

If you do not cite your secondary sources, you are plagiarizing. Plagiarism is completely unacceptable. It is an act of fraud because you are stealing someone else’s idea and pretending it is yours. In some countries, plagiarism is illegal if/when it violates copyright.

How you cite your secondary sources depends on the requirements of your publication/university, but what is important is that you make sure you cite everything correctly. This includes not only the author and title of the text, but also the issue or edition of the book/article, the page number, publisher, and in the case of websites, the date you accessed the information.

Tip: You’ll find more information about citation requirements in the style guide of the system you are required to use.

A documentary can either be a secondary or a tertiary source. It is a secondary source if it analyses different types of sources and a tertiary source if it only repackages information and doesn't provide interpretations or opinions. Take a look at Is a documentary a secondary source? for more insight on the topic.

It depends. A textbook can either be a secondary or tertiary source and, in seldom cases, a primary source. Take a look at Is a textbook a secondary source? for more insight on the topic.

Secondary source data is time-saving and cost-efficient, as the data was collected by someone other than the researcher. In other words, the work is already done by someone else, and you can use this to your advantage.

No, an encyclopedia is a tertiary source. Take a look at Is an encyclopedia a primary source? for more insight on the topic.

Some examples of secondary sources are: Biographies, histories, reviews, literary criticism, discussions of importance, analysis of clinical trials, and reviews of results.

books secondary sources

  • Secondary Sources: Books
  • Secondary Sources: Journal Articles
  • Primary Sources
  • Citation Guide
  • Teaching Resources
  • Historic Preservation
  • HIS 3491: Medicine & Society
  • Reading like a Historian: Medicine & Conquest of the Americas

Constructing a Bibliography

  • Talk to your professor; she can suggest good primary and secondary sources for a particular topic
  • Search OneSearch, the library catalog. Use the records for secondary sources you've already identified to find similar works by checking the subject headings or keywords from chapter titles and summaries.
  • Once you have found a good secondary source, check that source's bibliography to identify more secondary sources.  Use the bibliographies from these secondary sources to identify primary sources.
  • Search Dissertations & Theses to find recent dissertations on your topic.  A recent dissertation will likely have the most up to date bibliography on its topics.
  • Read book reviews for ideas on how other historians have reacted to individual books, and perhaps relate them to other existing works.
  • Browse the library shelves where you have located other useful materials.

How to Find Books at FSU

  • OneSearch OneSearch is the main search box on the FSU Libraries website.

Read Academic Books Effectively

Even in the Digital Age, books are still an important publication format in the humanities. In fact, journal articles may be the precursor to full-length books. Here are some tips on how to use books more effectively in your research:

  • Read the table of contents, introduction, and conclusion first. Academic works are not novels - you'll get more out of it if you know in advance the author's main points and conclusions.
  • Found a good book on your topic? Look at the titles near it on the shelf for related works.
  • Raid the bibliography of a good book for more sources, both primary and secondary. Ask a librarian if you need help locating a cited source.
  • Tips for Efficient Reading Professor Karin Wulf's advice for reading scholarly books efficiently.
  • How to Read for Grad School by Miriam Sweeney, Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama. "Following these tips should help you master your readings instead of allowing the readings to master you!"

Finding Books @ Other Libraries

Ready to expand your search beyond the shelves at FSU Libraries? Use the WorldCat database to search for books, audio, video, and other materials in libraries across the country and around the world.  Then use UBorrow (if in the state of Florida) or Interlibrary Loan (everywhere else) to borrow items from other libraries!

  • UBorrow Borrow books from any of the 11 state universities in Florida. It's faster than ILL and renewals can be requested easily. The following short tutorial will show you how!

WorldCat is a catalog of catalogs; it allows you to search nationwide and around the world to find materials held by other libraries. You can request print books, microfilm, and physical media like CDs and DVDs that you find in WorldCat using InterLibrary Loan.

Note that ebooks cannot be shared between libraries because of licensing restrictions, but you may be able to request a single chapter from an ebook, just like you can request a single article from an online journal.

  • Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad) This link opens in a new window The Interlibrary Loan service provides access to materials that are unavailable from FSU Libraries. For more information, visit Interlibrary Loan . more... less... Resource URL: https://fsu.illiad.oclc.org/illiad/tecsrv/illiad.dll Vendor: OCLC
  • WorldCat (OCLC WorldCat Discovery) This link opens in a new window WorldCat Discovery provides single-search access to OCLC's catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide. more... less... Resource URL: https://floridastateuniversity.on.worldcat.org/advancedsearch?databaseList=283 Abbreviation: wcwc Vendor: OCLC Subjects: Indexes & Catalogs Type: Indexes / Catalogs
  • OCLC FirstSearch This link opens in a new window The original--and more powerful--interface for WorldCat. Great for locating serials (e.g. newspapers, journals) and those more obscure book titles. more... less... Resource URL: https://firstsearch.oclc.org/FSIP Abbreviation: oclcfs Vendor: OCLC Coverage: 1000 BC to present Type: Indexes / Catalogs

Dissertations & Theses

  • Dissertations & Theses (Global) (PQDT, ProQuest) This link opens in a new window ProQuest Dissertations & Theses covers every doctoral dissertation completed in the U.S. at accredited institutions for the last 150 years. Includes some master's theses and foreign language dissertations. Titles published since 1997 are available in PDF digital form full-text. more... less... You have access to : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: Business ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: Health & Medicine ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: History ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: Literature & Language ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: Science & Technology ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: Social Sciences ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text: The Arts Resource URL: http://search.proquest.com/pqdtglobal/advanced/dissertations/fromDatabasesLayer?accountid=4840 Abbreviation: dissertations Vendor: ProQuest Coverage: 1637–Current Subjects: *General / Multi-Subject Type: Dissertations / Theses
  • CRL - International Dissertation Catalog FSU has free and unlimited use of CRL collections--including international dissertations. Simply request the one (or more) you need through InterLibrary Loan (see above).
  • DART Europe E-Theses Portal DART-Europe is a partnership of research libraries and library consortia who are working together to improve global access to European research theses. DART-Europe is endorsed by LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche), and it is the European Working Group of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD).
  • Theses.fr Index to all theses defended in France since 1985. It has both French and English interfaces and some theses are available full-text.
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Bluebook Quick Reference

Secondary sources include books, articles, encyclopedias and other non-primary sources.  Each kind of secondary source has a slightly different set of rules for citation.

Rule 15 in the Bluebook explains how to properly cite a book.  The basic format will include:

  • Full name of the author(s)
  • Book title (underlined or italicized)
  • Pinpoint page number (if needed)
  • Publication information (if applicable)
  • Year of publication

[Example:  John Doe, My Book 93 (2nd ed, 2012).]  

Author NOTE :  

  • Give the name of the author just as it appears, not surname first, as is common in other citation formats.
  • If there are two authors, include both names, joined by an ampersand (&).
  • If there are multiple authors, put the first listed author followed by "et al."
  • If no author is given and only an editor is provided, leave the author portion of the citation blank and include the editor in the publication information section of the citation.

Publication NOTE :  

  • If the book has multiple editions, be sure to include the edition number you are using.

Remember to pay attention to comma placement!

Collections

Citing a collection (of articles, essays, etc.) is also covered by Rule 15 of the Bluebook.  The basic citation format will include:

  • Title of the specific work (underlined or italicized)
  • Title of the collection (underlined or italicized)
  • Page number

Rule 15.8 gives instructions for citing specific works, including The Bible , The Federalist , William Shakespeare's plays, etc.

Periodicals

Refer to Rule 16 when citing a journal or law review.  The basic elements of a periodical citation include:

  • Title of the article (underline or italicize)
  • Volume number
  • Name of the periodical, properly abbreviated (see T13)

-Some periodicals will not have a volume number.  These are known non-consecutive paginated periodicals.  For these, omit the volume number part of the citation and include the full publication date in the parenthetical.   Newspapers should be cited as non-consecutive paginated periodicals, giving the month, day, and year of the newspaper source.

Legal Encyclopedias

The basic elements when citing an encyclopedia are:

  • Encyclopedia name, properly abbreviated
  • Title of the article/entry (underlined or italicized)
  • Section symbol (§)
  • Section number

Legal Dictionaries

The basic elements when citing a legal dictionary include:

  • Dictionary Name
  • Pinpoint page number
  • Edition number

Nonprint Sources

The Bluebook rules for nonprint sources are outline in Rule 17 .  These include sources like interviews, letters, emails, or unpublished works.  The Bluebook contains sections that detail how to properly reference these varied sources.

Secondary Sources Reference

This table can be used for quick reference when determining how to cite a secondary source.

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  • Last Updated: Dec 31, 2023 3:41 PM

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Modern world history: world war ii: secondary sources: books.

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  • Primary Sources
  • Off-Campus Access to Library Resources

Expand upon your Reference Source research with Secondary Source books / ebooks.

These full-length books will have more specific information about your topic..

  • They are written by scholars and subject experts.
  • The author often presents a new interpretation of your topic based upon a synthesis of based on primary sources, secondary source books, journal articles, and other scholarly materials.
  • They have a bibliography of sources or notes citing sources used.
  • Sometimes there's a whole book on your topic, and sometimes a chapter or section.

Tips for Citing Books / eBooks in NoodleTools

Library catalog search, a keyword  search using a broad term will yield the most hits. , when you identify a book that looks useful, click on the book title to open the book's full record. , scroll down to  subject(s):  and click on a subject heading to find other books with the same subject headings., scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on  browse shelf  to see books that sit to the left and right on the shelf..

Search RhinoCat 

Keyword Title Author Subject ISBN Series Call Number

RhinoCat  is the Library's automated catalog of books, ebooks, and other library materials.

A  keyword  search using a broad term will yield the most hits. , search library catalog.

Keyword Keyword as phrase Title Title phrase Author Subject Subject as phrase Series Call number

Visit Library Catalog Page

Reserve books, click here for a list of books on reserve.

These books are on reserve for the duration of the assignment and may be used IN THE LIBRARY ONLY . 

Note: This list will change periodically as new books are added to the reserve.

During class time in the library , you have free access to the books on the book trucks., you are on your honor to return books to the book truck so they are available to all students researching the same topic., outside of class time ,  you may come to the circulation desk and sign out up to 2 books at a time  for use in the library only . note: the limit to the number of books is to ensure equitable availability of materials among the 7 sections of modern world history..

USE GENIUS SCAN TO SCAN PAGES / CHAPTERS TO TAKE WITH YOU.

Scan pages from books and other print sources  

Including title page and back side of title page, and email the pdf to your taft email, genius scan, get it from the app store, improve your search results, by doing an advanced search in rhinocat., open the advanced search page  and follow these steps:, 1. e nter your keyword(s) in the top keyword field., 2. in the second keyword field, change keyword to subject . copy and paste world war 1939-1945  into field., 3. in the third keyword field, change and to not   and keyword to subject . copy and paste united states into field., if you have any questions, see mr. padgett, ms. taylor, or mr. previti, or email us at , [email protected]   ,    [email protected], [email protected], we're here to help, tips for citing books / ebooks in noodletools, please note: we recommend that you not copy and paste complete citations from electronic sources.   noodletools cannot generate footnotes from copied and pasted citations..

Print and electronic books can be cited using the  ISBN  ( International Standard Book Number)  . The ISBN can be found on the back cover of a book, on the back side of the title page, or in the catalog record for the book. It can also be found in databases containing sources originally produced in print. If you don't find it, we can help you. Books published before about 1967 won't have an ISBN.

To cite a book, choose the NoodleTools option that best describes where you found it:

Resource Allows NoodleTools Export

  • If you cannot export the citation, go to NoodleTools, choose Database and then  Book.
  • Be sure to provide the permanent URL for your ebook. Look for any of the following on the page: permalink, persistent link, stable link, durable link, "Get link", Cite, or Citable Link.
  • Complete information about the book (author, title, publication place, publisher, and publication date).
  • Choose Book.
  • Copy and paste the URL for the book from your browser address bar. 
  • Enter author, title, publication place, publisher, and publication date. If there's an ISBN, search that number to get the information about the book.
  • Enter the name of the website, and publisher if given.
  • If published after 1967, look for the ISBN and enter it into NoodleTools.
  • Make sure you have the author, title, publication place, publisher, and publication date.

If you have any questions,  Mr. Padgett, Ms. Taylor, or Mr. Previti are happy to help!

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Secondary Source Books

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books secondary sources

Secondary Sources: ALRs, Encyclopedias, Law Reviews, Restatements, & Treatises

Legal encyclopedias, law review articles, american law reports, restatement drafts, getting help, introduction.

Secondary sources are a great place to begin your research . Although the primary sources of law--case law, statutes, and regulations--establish the law on a given topic, it is often difficult to quickly locate answers in them. Secondary sources often explain legal principles more thoroughly than a single case or statute, so using them can help you save time . Secondary sources also help you avoid unnecessary research, since you're tapping into work that someone else has already done on an issue.

Secondary sources include:

  • Legal encyclopedias
  • American Law Reports (ALR)
  • Law review articles

Restatements

Secondary sources are particularly useful for:

  • Learning the basics of a particular area of law
  • Understanding key terms of art in an area
  • Identifying essential cases and statutes

This guide provides a basic overview of each source, including their strengths and why you might use them, as well as tips on finding, using, and citing them.

This guide is based on material written by Deanna Barmakian.

This guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License .

You may reproduce any part of it for noncommercial purposes as long as credit is included and it is shared in the same manner. 

Intro to Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias contain brief, broad summaries of legal topics, providing introductions to legal topics and explaining relevant terms of art.They also provide citations to relevant primary law and sometimes give citations to relevant major law review articles.

There are two main legal encyclopedias in the United States that are national in scope. They are useful, but not well-suited for jurisdiction specific research.

State legal encyclopedias provide background and explanations of state legal topics. Not every state has a legal encyclopedia. Depth of coverage and quality vary. State encyclopedia articles are updated irregularly.

Electronic versions of the encyclopedias are updated directly. If using a print encyclopedia, always remember to check the pocket parts for any updates.

National Legal Encyclopedias

  • American Jurisprudence 2d (AmJur) Reading Room KF 154.A42 Am Jur 2d articles summarize broad principles of U.S. law and provide citations to cases, statutes, rules, forms, and A.L.R. annotations. A six-volume general index is located at KF 154.A42. Topical indexes are located in the last volume of every topic.
  • American Jurisprudence Available on Lexis
  • American Jurisprudence on Westlaw
  • Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) Reading Room KF 154.C56 This 152-volume set is arranged into approximately 400 topics. Articles within topics begin with a general rule of law and are followed by the exceptions and qualifications to that general rule. A four-volume general index is located at KF 154.C56. There are also individual indexes for each major topic.
  • Corpus Juris Secundum on Westlaw CJS is not available on Lexis.

State Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias are listed alphabetically by state. Electronic versions are included only if they are comprehensive in scope.

For a few states, Westlaw offers a practice series that contains selective coverage of state law, usually covering a few major topics and information useful to litigators. To find them, browse the Westlaw directory by U.S. State Materials > Other U.S. States > State name >  Forms, Treatises, CLEs, and Other Practice Materials, then browse the page for "practice series."

  • California Jurisprudence 3d Reading Room KFC 80 .C29
  • Summary of California Law Reading Room KFC 80 .W5
  • California Jurisprudence 3d (Westlaw)
  • Summary of California Law (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • Summary of California Law (Westlaw)
  • Colorado Law Annotated 2d Reading Room KFC 1880 .P76
  • Florida Jurisprudence 2d Reading Room KFF 80 .F56
  • Florida Jurisprudence 2d (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • Florida Jurisprudence 2d (Westlaw)
  • Georgia Jurisprudence Reading Room KFG 80 .G45
  • Georgia Jurisprudence (Westlaw)
  • Illinois Law and Practice Reading Room KFI 1265 .I44x
  • Illinois Jurisprudence (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • Illinois Law and Practice (Westlaw)
  • Indiana Law Encyclopedia Reading Room KFI 3065 .W44
  • Indiana Law Encyclopedia (Westlaw)
  • Louisiana Civil Law Treatise Reading Room, KFL 92 - 583 (call numbers vary)
  • Louisiana Civil Law Treatise (Westlaw)
  • Maryland Law Encylopedia Reading Room KFM 1265 .W4x
  • Maryland Law Encyclopedia (Westlaw)
  • Michigan Law and Practice Encyclopedia Reading Room KFM 4265 .M63x
  • Michigan Law and Practice (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • Michigan Civil Jurisprudence (Westlaw)
  • Dunnell Minnesota Digest (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • Encyclopedia of Mississippi Law Reading Room KFM 6665 .E53x
  • Summary of Mississippi Law Reading Room KRM 6665 .G7
  • New Hampshire Practice Reading Room KFN 1280 .N48
  • New Jersey Practice Reading Room KFN 1880 .N4
  • New Jersey Practice (Westlaw)
  • New York Jurisprudence 2d Reading Room KFN 5065 .N48
  • New York Jurisprudence 2d (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • New York Jurisprudence 2d (Westlaw)
  • Strong's North Carolina Index Reading Room KFN 7445 .6 .S82
  • Strong's North Carolina Index (Westlaw)
  • Ohio Jurisprudence 3d Reading Room KFO 65 .O35
  • Ohio Jurisprudence 3d (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • Ohio Jurisprudence 3d (Westlaw)
  • Pennsylvania Law Encyclopedia Reading Room KFP 65 .P46x
  • Pennsylvania Law Encyclopedia (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • Summary of Pennsylvania Jurisprudence 2d (Westlaw)
  • South Carolina Jurisprudence Reading Room KFS 1865 .S68x
  • South Carolina Jurisprudence (Westlaw)
  • Tennessee Jurisprudence Reading Room KFT 65 .T46
  • Tennessee Jurisprudence (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • Texas Jurisprudence 3d Reading Room KFT 1265 .T49
  • Texas Jurisprudence 3d (Lexis) Available on Lexis
  • Texas Jurisprudence 3d (Westlaw)
  • Michie's Jurisprudence of Virginia and West Virginia Reading Room KFV 2465 .M52
  • Michie's Jurisprudence of Virginia and West Virginia (Lexis) Available on Lexis

How to Cite Legal Encyclopedias

See Bluebook B8.15 and Rule 15.8.

Quick example:

17 AM. JUR. 2d Contracts § 74 (1964).

Intro to Treatises

Treatises , not to be confused with treaties , are book-length expositions on the law as it pertains to a particular subject. Treatises may be scholarly in nature, such as Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Law , or they may be geared toward a legal practitioner, such as a manual or handbook.

A legal treatise may be a short, single volume or a large, multivolume set. Many are available electronically as well as in print. Different kinds of treatises have different purposes:

Legal hornbooks are designed as teaching tools for law students. Hornbooks provide more detailed treatments of particular areas of law than an encyclopedia or ALR entry. They generally contain summaries of landmark cases and other useful details.

Nutshells provide an overview of a legal topic without the detailed analysis or extensive case referencing found in other treatises.

Some treatises are designed to serve as practitioners’ tools. These works tend to address realistic legal problems and often provide useful features for practicing lawyers, such as forms and tables.

Looseleaf services are an example of treatises designed to serve as tools for practitioners. Such works address realistic legal problems and often provide useful features for practicing lawyers, such as forms and tables. Looseleaf services are frequently supplemented treatises--hence the looseleaf binder format that enables single pages to be easily updated without republishing the entire volume--that often contain primary legal sources and finding aids in addition to secondary analytical material, making them an invaluable resource if one exists for your topic.

Still other treatises are designed to serve as self-help publications for the public, such as those published by Nolo Press .

Finding treatises

There are several ways to locate legal treatises:

  • Use the HLS Library Guide to Legal Treatises by Subject for librarian-recommended treatises in many areas of law
  • Do a keyword or subject search in Hollis , Hollis Classic , or another library catalog . Use the expanded search or facets to limit your search to the law school library.
  • Ask a research librarian to help you locate treatises on your topic
  • Consult reference sources that review treatises by subject such as:
The Legal Information Buyer's Guide and Reference Manual by Ken Svengalis Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It by Kent C. Olson (note: this guide does not include single volume works) Legal Looseleafs in Print by Arlene Eis

Using treatises

Using legal treatises is like using any non-law book with a few special advisories.

First, as with any book, use the table of contents and the index to quickly locate relevant sections .

Second, remember that for a publication to provide reliable coverage of contemporary issues, it must be updated regularly and accurately to reflect any changes in the law . Updating may happen through the addition of pocket parts (which are usually tucked in a pocket in the back cover of a volume), by updated pages in a looseleaf, or periodic republication or an entire volume. Researchers should always make sure they are working with the most current edition of the treatise and be sure to consult pocket parts.

Third, while many treatises are still only available in print, more treatises are becoming available online . For example, major treatises on insurance law are available in both Lexis and Westlaw. Electronic versions of treatises allow for full text searching, which can be valuable for research. For more focused search results, consider narrowing your search to relevant sections, if possible. In many cases, you can still access the tables of contents and indexes to help locate chapters or sections of interest.

Remember that you can (and should!) check to see how current the electronic text is by clicking the I link next to the title of the treatise to see how regularly it is updated and when the last update took place.

How to Cite Treatises

See Bluebook Rule 15.

RICHARD H. FALLON, JR. ET AL., HART AND WECHSLER'S THE FEDERAL COURTS AND THE FEDERAL SYSTEM 330 (5th ed. 2003).

Intro to Law Review Articles

Law review or journal articles are another great secondary source for legal research, valuable for the depth in which they analyze and critique legal topics, as well as their extensive references to other sources, including primary sources.

Law reviews are scholarly publications, usually edited by law students in conjunction with faculty members. They contain both lengthy articles and shorter essays by professors and lawyers, as well as comments, notes, or developments in the law written by students. Law review articles often focus on new or emerging areas of law and they can offer more critical commentary than a legal encyclopedia or ALR entry .

Some law reviews are dedicated to a particular topic, such as gender and the law or environmental law, and will include in their contents the proceedings of a wide range of panels and symposia on timely legal issues.

Sources of full text law review articles

These resources all provide comprehensive coverage of United States law reviews, and allow you to search the full text of the articles that they index.

  • Bloomberg Law Bloomberg Law is available to all HLS students, faculty, and staff. Register with your HLS email address. Law reviews are included in Bloomberg Law's selection of secondary sources.
  • HeinOnline Law Journal Library Database of full text, PDF law review articles; use advanced search to search by topic or search specific titles. HeinOnline is the most comprehensive law review articles database, as coverage begins with the first issue of each journal.
  • LexisNexis U.S. Law Reviews and Journals, Combined Combined full text database of United States Law Reviews and Bar Journals. Coverage begins in 1982; regular updates as received from publishers. Lexis also contains databases for Canadian law reviews articles and law review articles by jurisdiction and topic.
  • Westlaw Journals & Law Reviews Journals and Law Reviews contains full text documents from law reviews and CLE materials from U.S. and Canadian based publications. Coverage varies by publication with most going back to the 1980s or 1990s.

Indexes to law reviews and journals

These resources only index articles, usually by author, title, keywords, and subject; you will have to find the full text separately. However, they provide additional ways of searching, including taking advantage of subject indexing by expert librarians, and they enable finding material that may not be found in full text databases. In most cases, there will be a link to find the article you desire at Harvard. If we do not own the journal in question, you may request the article via interlibrary loan .

  • Current Index to Legal Periodicals A weekly publication by the University of Washington Library, CILP indexes the most recent law review and journal publications by subject as well as provides the tables of contents of the journals indexed. Also available on Westlaw and in print in the reference room at K 33 .C86.
  • Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals IFLP indexes legal literature worldwide, covering all forms of foreign law, including comparative law and legal systems, such as Islamic law; socialist law; public and private international law; and transnational commercial law. Although Anglo-American law is not covered, British and American publications concerning foreign law are included. IFLP includes journal articles, congress reports, essay collections, yearbooks and book reviews in all languages. Coverage begins in 1985.
  • Index to Legal Periodicals, Retrospective (1908 - 1981) This retrospective database indexes over 750 legal periodicals published in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Annual surveys of the laws of a jurisdiction, annual surveys of the federal courts, yearbooks, annual institutes, and annual reviews of the work in a given field or on a given topic will also be covered.
  • Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (1981 - ) ILP indexes articles in over 800 legal periodicals such as law reviews, bar association journals, yearbooks, institutes, and government publications from August 1981 to the present. In 1994, ILP began indexing legal books and now indexes approximately 2,000 per year. ILP can be searched simultaneously with ILP Retrospective (see next link) through the open database selection area link.

Restricted Access: HarvardKey or Harvard ID and PIN required

  • Index to Canadian Legal Literature (Westlaw) ICLL is a periodical index and bibliography of Canadian legal literature from 1985 to present. ICLL indexes monographs, essays, federal and provincial government publications, publications of law faculties and legal research institutes and associations, including theses, publications from the law societies and associations, legal education materials, and more. Also available in print in the reference room at KE 1 .I532 2001
  • Nineteenth Century Masterfile Jones & Chipman's Index to Legal Periodical Literature covers the content of about 235 British legal periodicals and 67 Law Report titles from 1786-1937. Jones & Chipman is available as part of 19th Century Masterfile, a collection of indexes covering 19th century periodicals and newspapers. Also available in print in the Library at Reference K 33 .I53. more... less... Help Searching
  • Legal Journals Index (Westlaw) Legal Journals Index provides citations to articles in over 450 legal journals published in the United Kingdom and other European countries from 1986 to the present. The index covers topics pertaining to the laws of the European Union and its member states. Citations include abstracts and links to the full-text of the article and referenced cases when available. Also available in print in the reference room at KD 59 .L44.

Working Paper Repositories

Working papers are an additional source of secondary analysis. They are frequently draft or pre-publication versions of law review articles, though you will also find published versions of articles in these databases. When citing or relying on a draft paper, be sure to carefully check its citations and request the author's permission before citing.

  • SSRN Legal Scholarship Network Contains both published and working papers by law faculty, as well as scholars working in the fields of accounting, economics, financial economics, and management. Search by author and by title and abstract keywords. Most papers are available for download in pdf format.
  • BePress Legal Repository Contains approximately 3000 articles and papers by law faculty.

How to Cite Law Review and Journal Articles

See Bluebook Rule 16.

Quick example: Paul Butler et. al., Race, Law and Justice: The Rehnquist Court and the American Dilemma, 45 Am. U. L. REV. 567, 569 (1996).

Intro to ALR

American Law Reports (frequently abbreviated and referred to as ALR) contains in-depth articles on narrow topics of the law. ALR articles, called annotations, provide background, analysis, and citations to relevant cases, statutes, law review articles, and other annotations .

ALR is published in series:

  • two series under its original title Lawyers Reports Annotated
  • eight ALR series, one through six
  • two federal series

ALR annotations are not jurisdiction specific. Each annotation contains a Table of Jurisdictions to help you find relevant cases within specific states. In the federal series, the Table of Jurisdictions directs you to cases by circuit.

All ALR series continue to be updated, though not on a regular schedule. When using the set in print, always check the pocket parts for updates. ALR is also available in both Lexis and Westlaw, and the electronic versions incorporate updates into the text. ALR annotations can also be completely superceded by more recent annotations. Electronic versions will provide referrals to the superceding annotations, but in print, you should check the History Table at the end of the ALR Index to verify that your annotation has not been superceded.

Find relevant annotations by using the print indices or searching the ALR databases in Lexis or Westlaw. When using ALR electronically, it is most efficient to look for your terms in the titles of the annotations, since their titles are specific, and reflect their contents.

Finding ALR in print and online

  • ALR on Westlaw Contains the full text of the annotations included in the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Federal, and Federal Second series of American Law Reports (ALR) and the Index to Annotations covering these series. Because West publishes ALR, this is the most comprehensive electronic version.

Lexis ID and password required

  • The ALR Index is located in the Reading Room at KF 132.2.I53. It covers annotations written since 1948.
  • The ALR Quick Index is located in the Reading Room at KF 132.6.A543. It covers major annotations from the ALR 3d series to the present.

How to Cite ALR Annotations

See Bluebook Rule 16.6.6

William B. Johnson, Annotation, Use of Plea Bargain or Grant of Immunity as Improper Vouching for Credibility of Witness in Federal Cases, 76 A.L.R. FED. 409 (1986).

Intro to Restatements

Restatements are highly regarded distillations of common law . They are prepared by the American Law Institute (ALI), a prestigious organization comprising judges, professors, and lawyers. The ALI's aim is to distill the "black letter law" from cases to indicate trends in common law, and occasionally to recommend what a rule of law should be. In essence, they restate existing common law into a series of principles or rules.

Restatements cover broad topics, such as Contracts or Property. They are organized into chapters, titles, and sections. Sections contain a concisely stated rule of law, comments to clarify the rule, hypothetical examples, explanation of purpose, as well as exceptions to the rule.

Restatements are not primary law. Due to the prestige of the ALI and its painstaking drafting process, however, they are considered persuasive authority by many courts. The most heavily cited Restatements are the Restatement of Torts and the Restatement of Contracts.

The ALI web site contains information regarding Restatement projects, ALI membership, history and institutional processes.

Finding Cases Discussing Restatements

Annotations of cases citing a Restatement section can be found in the Appendix volumes the Restatements in print. There may be one or many Appendix volumes. They are organized by Restatement series, (i.e. citations to the first Restatement, then second, etc.), then by section number. Appendices are not cumulative. The spines indicate sections and years covered. They are updated with pocket parts, cumulative annual supplements, and semiannual pamphlets called Interim Case Citations. The same case annotations are available when using the Restatements on LexisNexis or Westlaw.

You can Shepardize a Restatement section on LexisNexis using the following formats. Note that Bluebook citation format for Restatements, or permutations thereof, will not work.

  • torts second sec. 46
  • property second (donative transfers) sec 25.9
  • conflict of laws second sec. 6
  • contracts second sec. 35 cmt. d illus. 7

You can also KeyCite a Restatement section on Westlaw using the following formats. Note that KeyCite finds significantly more citing material than Shepard's for Restatements. (See the KeyCite Publications List for additional help with citation format.)

  • rest agen s 1
  • rest 2d contr s 3
  • rest 2d prop-lt s 1.1
  • rest 3d trusts-pir s 170

Current Restatements

Listed below are print editions of the Restatements and their locations in the library. Restatements are also available on both Lexis and Westlaw:

Restatements on LexisNexis Rules (along with comments, illustrations, and notes) are searchable in separate sources from case citations. This makes searching for relevant rules very efficient on LexisNexis. Case citations are linked from individual rules. Browse tables of contents or search by keyword. Restatement drafts are in separate sources from final versions of Restatements. The first series of Restatements is not available on LexisNexis.

Retreiving Restatement sections using Get a Document is not intuitive. Search for restatement in the Get a Document Citation Formats list to determine the proper format.

Restatements on Westlaw All series of Restatements are available on Westlaw. Browse tables of contents or search by keyword. Searching the Restatements on Westlaw can be problematic, because multiple series as well as selected drafts are combined into one database along with case citations to all of them, e.g. Torts first, second, and the topic-specialized Torts third series along with citations to all series are in one database. This can make keyword searching inefficient unless you use a fielded search or use the Table of Contents mode to search within a particular Restatement. Examine your search results carefully to ensure you are looking at the current version of a rule. If a rule has been superceded, there will be note above the rule text indicating this.

Retrieving Restatement sections using Find is somewhat intuitive. The format mimics the database ID. See the listed format for KeyCite below; they will also work for Find. For a complete list of Restatement retrieval formats, search the Find Publications List for restatement. 

  • Agency 2d Reading Room KF 1345 .A764
  • Agency 3d Reading Room KF 1345 .A764
  • Conflict of Laws 2d Reading Room KF 411 .A453
  • Contracts 2d Reading Room KF 801 .R47
  • Foreign Relations Law of the United States 3d Reading Room KF 4651 .A748x
  • Judgments 2d Reading Room KF 8990 .R48
  • Law Governing Lawyers 3d Reading Room KF 300 .R47
  • Property Reading Room KF 570 .A73
  • Property, Donative Transfers 2d Reading Room KF 613 .R47
  • Property, Landlord and Tenant 2d Reading Room KF 590 .A84
  • Property, Mortgages 3d Reading Room KF 695 .R49
  • Property, Servitudes 3d Reading Room KF 656 .R475x
  • Property, Wills and Other Donative Transfers 3rd Reading Room KF613 .R479x
  • Restitution: Quasi Contracts & Constructive Trusts Reading Room KF 1244 .R46x
  • Security Reading Room KF 1050 .A745
  • Suretyship and Guaranty 3d Reading Room KF 1045 .R463x
  • Torts 2d Reading Room KF 1249 .A4 R47
  • Torts, Apportionment of Liability 3d Reading Room KF 1249 .A4 R4774x
  • Torts, Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm 3d Reading Room KF1286 .R473x
  • Torts, Products Liability 3d Reading Room KF 1296 .R476x
  • Trusts 2d Reading Room KF 730 .A8
  • Trusts 3d Reading Room KF 730 .R4763x
  • Trusts, Prudent Investor Rule 3d Reading Room KF 730 .R4725
  • Unfair Competition 3d Reading Room KF 3195 .R475x

Restatements in Draft Status

For more information about the drafting process, see the Restatements Drafts sub-tab.

  • Employment Law 3d (discussion draft) Reading Room KF3319 .R473x
  • Restitution and Unjust Enrichment 3d (tentative draft) Reading Room KF 1244 .R463x
  • Torts, Economic Torts and Related Wrongs 3d This project began in 2010; there are no drafts yet.
  • U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration 3d

How to Cite Restatements

See Bluebook Rule 12.8.5

RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF PROP.: DONATIVE  TRANSFERS § 2 (2000).

  • Liability for Economic Harm (tentative draft) (Torts 3d)

The Drafting Process

For a short overview of the drafting process for a Restatement, see How the ALI Works .

Parties Involved

  • ALI Officers: a group of approximately ten, including the Chair of the Council, President, Vice Presidents, Treasurer, Director, and Deputy Directors
  • ALI Council: an elected, standing group of approximately sixty judges, professors, and lawyers
  • Reporter: Head of the Restatement project appointed by the ALI Officers and Council, responsible for drafting the language of the Restatement
  • Advisers: Group of professors and lawyers (usually 12-30 for a Restatement) with subject expertise appointed to advise the Reporter
  • Members Consultative Group: Groups of ALI members (usually 50-75 for a Restatement) interested in the topic of a Restatement who wish to offer input
  • ALI Membership: a approximately 3000 ALI members who discuss and ocasionally vote on Restatement language at annual meetings; membership gives input only near the end stages of the drafting process

Drafting Process

The following process typically takes between 9 and 21 years:

  • A Reporter is appointed by the Council
  • The Reporter divides the project into parts that go through the following process separately:
  • The Reporter writes a preliminary draft
  • The Preliminary draft is sent to the Advisers and the Members Consultative Group
  • The Advisers and Members Consultative Group recommend revisions
  • The Reporter, at his/her discretion, makes the revisions
  • The draft goes back and forth between the Advisers and the Reporter and a series of revised preliminary drafts are made
  • The Reporter and Advisers send a council draft to the Council of the Institute
  • The Council suggests revisions
  • The Reporter is somewhat obliged to make the suggested revisions
  • The draft goes back and forth between the Advisors and the Council and a series of council drafts are made
  • The Council presents a tentative draft to the ALI membership
  • The draft goes back and forth between the Council and the Membership and a series of tentative drafts are made
  • Issues surrounding the draft settle and a proposed final draft is usually created
  • The proposed final draft (or last tentative draft) is submitted to the ALI Membership at the annual meeting
  • The Membership and the Council approve the proposed final draft
  • The Restatement is adopted and promulgated and the official text of the Restatement is published

Other ALI-authored works, such as Uniform Commercial Code articles, are created in a similar process. If you want assistance locating materials relating to non-Restatement ALI projects, please ask a research librarian .

TRACING THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF RESTATEMENT SECTIONS

Legal researchers sometimes need to trace the historical development of a Restatement section, the impetus for its inclusion, which section of a prior Restatement it derived from, or how it came to be worded a certain way.

For many sections, Reporter's notes explain the development of a section, often explaining earlier versions and citations to cases that were used as the basis for the rule. Reporters notes can be found in the Appendix volumes of individual Restatements.

To trace how the text changed during the drafting process, you can compare various drafts: the tentative drafts, council drafts, preliminary drafts and proposed final drafts. Each draft has its own record in the library catalog. Use the Title Keywords search in  Hollis Classic --for example, search  restatement torts --to locate them. Drafts are also available in the microform set Archive Publications described below.

Some Restatement volumes contain conversion tables. These tables indicate where sections of drafts or sections from earlier series were included in the final, adopted version of a Restatement.

Although some Restatements are designated 2d or 3d, there are not always antecedents. For instance, the Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers is a Restatement of the Law Third, but there has never been a first or second Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers.

  • The Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Law Institute Available online from 1997 Available on Westlaw from 2000 For additional and older material, see: Reading Room KF 294 .A5 A3 Microform Room Drawer 812 An excellent research tool for those tracing the development of a Restatement section. The ALI has published the Proceedings annually since 1923, except for 1945-1955. The Proceedings contain reports to ALI members, Reporter presentations, transcripts of discussions of drafts, the text of proposed amendments, and include an index of sections discussed. For the years 1945-1955, the Proceedings are only available in the Archive Publications set described below.
  • The ALI Reporter Available online from 1999 Reading Room KF 200 .A455 The ALI's quarterly newsletter contains the latest information about ALI projects, meetings, and members, including reports on actions taken on drafts and the full text of chapters approved for discussion at the annual meeting with revisions explained.
  • Archive Publications Microfilm Room KF 294.A5 A43, Drawers 963-965 A microfiche set containing the text of of Restatements, all drafts, and ALI Proceedings from annual meetings for the years that were not officially published, 1945-55. It also contains drafts of four Restatement projects that were terminated before completion. The set is arranged by Restatement, by section, and chronologically. Coverage starts with the founding of the ALI in 1923. All drafts produced for ALI projects are added to this set a few years after the project is completed or terminated. There is a print guide to this microfiche collection in the Microform Room at KF 294 .A5 A43.
  • American Law Institute Archives Finally, there is a well-indexed, comprehensive collection of the American Law Institute Archives at the Biddle Law Library of the University of Pennsylvania. The archive contains drafts, comments, and correspondence related to ALI projects.

Determining the Current Status of Restatement Drafts

The American Law Institute is continually working on Restatements and other projects. Researchers are often interested in determining whether a Restatement has become final, or what stage the drafting process has reached. The following tools can help answer those questions, as well as provide a history of the development of ALI projects.

  • ALI Catalog of Publications The catalog contains information about draft content and authorship. It mentions which portions of Restatements are superceded or in development.
  • Annual Report of the ALI Director The Annual Report summarizes work contemplated, underway, and completed during the year on various Restatements. Available online from 1999. Reports 1988-1998, are available in the Reading Room KF 294 .A5 A14 .
  • Proceedings of ALI Annual Meetings The Proceedings contain proposed amendments, an index of sections discussed, and records of discussions. Meetings take place in May and the Proceedings are usually available by March or April of the following year. Available online from 1997 Available on Westlaw from 2000 For additional and older material, see: Reading Room KF 294 .A5 A3 Microform Room Drawer 812

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  • Last Updated: Sep 12, 2023 10:46 AM
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books secondary sources

HIST 392: Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (Bazzaz): Secondary Sources

  • Start Here!
  • Secondary Sources
  • Primary Sources
  • Access Options
  • Cite in Chicago Style
  • Contact a Librarian

Research Strategies

  • Choose a Tool
  • Craft Your Keywords
  • TRACE Research Leads

CHOOSE A TOOL:

As historical researchers, we might use... 

The Library Catalog  [or CrossSearch]

  • May contain many types of sources (scholarly, non-scholarly, multimedia,etc., both secondary and primary) 
  • Covers a variety of subject areas; 
  • Best  place to find books for background on your topic. 

General (Article) Databases  [or CrossSearch]

  • May contain many types of sources (scholarly, non-scholarly, multimedia,etc., all typically secondary)
  • Cover a variety of subject areas; 
  • Good places to begin research OR to do research on an interdisciplinary topic. May not be specific enough for advanced research. 
  • May contain many types of sources (scholarly, non-scholarly, multimedia, etc., all typically secondary)
  • Focus on a specific subject area or areas;
  • Include tools designed for specialized research (e.g., ability to search by historical period).
  • May contain a variety of source types (newspapers, manuscripts, etc.) or be limited to one
  • Typically focused on the basis of one or more of the following: date; place; type of source; and/or topic. 
  • Usually includes tools specifically designed for searching primary sources

C onsider your research needs . What do you need at this point in time? Are you still becoming familiar with your topic, or are you trying to fill specific gaps? 

For example, most primary source collections are categorized by  date ,  geography,  genre  and/or  topic.   So if you are hoping to find news reports on the St. Louis World's Fair, you need a resource that: 

  • Provides access to newspapers; 
  • Includes resources published in the US (even better, resources local to St. Louis or the midwestern US) 
  • Covers the early 20th century, and 1904 specifically. 

Not sure which tool to use? Ask a librarian! 

CRAFT YOUR KEYWORDS:

Any research process begins by figuring out how to search. But,  where to begin? 

""

  • When you use  AND , a database will look for resources that use all of the words you entered.
  • Use  OR  between words that mean the same or similar things, or that you are equally interested in.  

books secondary sources

  • Rephrasing . See if you can find even 1 or 2 relevant articles, note what subjects are listed for them, and use these to try again.
  • Broadening  your topic, date range, geographic area, etc. 
  • Switching tools . Sometimes you just need a different database! 
  • Search Log (fill it out online, then download to save your answers!)

TRACE RESEARCH LEADS:

No piece of research stands alone; each is part of a broader scholarly conversation in that topic/ field. These resources have clues that you can  TRACE, if you know how to look! 

T erms – Check the abstract, subject terms and article for concepts and terms that you can use for your future searches.

R eported in –   Is the journal where the article was printed relevant? Try searching for other articles from this journal. A uthor – What else has the author(s) published on this topic? Search the databases for their other publications C onsulted by -   Check Google Scholar to see which articles or books have cited your sources, and to find more-recent research which builds on your original information.

E vidence  - Check the references list (or bibliography) to see what previous research this resource is drawing on. From here, you may wish to consider: 

- Previous articles or books published on your topic - Other authors who have published on your topic - Journals where your topic is frequently discussed

  • Use a Citation TRACE

Tools for TRACE-ing: 

Set up Google Scholar to connect to library resources .

Citations and abstracts for journals, books, and conference proceedings, primarily in the natural and social sciences. 

Use the resources in the boxes below to search for Books, Articles  and Journals  on your topic. But first, read the next few tabs for some important Search Strategies.

Find Books, E-Books & Book Chapters

Monographs vs. Edited Collections

  • Books in the Library Stacks
  • Book Chapters
  • Search for Books

Monographs  typically consist of a single intellectual work in one volume (i.e., one topic, likely one overall argument, etc.). You might find that an individual chapter or section of a monograph contributes substantially to your understanding of a topic. 

Edited collections  (also sometimes called anthologies or edited works, among others) contain a collection of essays around a topic or idea, typically curated by one or more scholars in the field. These scholars, called the  editors , have usually determined the topic of the collection, solicited papers on relevant topics, and selected the papers for final inclusion in the volume; they may have taken on other roles in the publishing process as well. Edited collections are valuable for their ability to bring together different takes on and aspects of a topic in a particular volume where they can be read together, but the chapters or essays also stand as their own intellectual works. 

Whereas monographs are quite broad, chapters in edited collections are more similar in depth and length to journal articles. 

Finding Edited Collections 

Edited collections are listed in CrossSearch like any other book. A trick for finding edited collections specifically is to include the term "edited" or "editor" as a keyword in your search.   From there, if the book is in print, you can use the strategies on the next tab (Book Chapters) to help identify the chapter(s) you would like to read -- or, find the entire book in the library.

You can also find chapters from edited collections...

  • listed in databases like Historical Abstracts  (where they are typically labeled as "essays" or, more rarely, "book articles"); 
  • cited in bibliographies  of articles and other books; and 
  • searchable in Google Scholar  

(among other places). 

Navigating the Library Stacks:

Books at Dinand Library are arranged by Library of Congress Call Number.

  • Reference books  are in the Main Reading Room
  • C all numbers  A through G  are on the upper (Mezzanine) level.
  • Call numbers  H through Z  are on the lower (Ground) level (with a few exceptions).
  • N  and  TR  call numbers are located on the main level in the Visual Arts Wing.
  • Oversize books  (with a "+" in the call number) are shelved at the end of the normal section for that letter. 
  • Library Stacks Guide

And of  course, you might also find books you'd like to read at other libraries -- read more about  Interlibrary Loan  on the Access Options  page . 

To search for e-books located at Holy Cross, use  CrossSearch . Then, use the  Resource Type  limiter in the side navigation to focus your search on e-books. 

books secondary sources

You may also want to search in our  specific e-book collections: 

  • Holy Cross E-Book Collections

When searching within a specific ebook collection, you will be able to search the full text of each book allowing more detailed searching. For example, you may search the library catalog and not find any titles on your topic, but a search in ebrary might find a book with one chapter focused on your topic.

Accessing E-Books at Holy Cross: In most cases, your best option is to use the "Read Online" feature for our e-books. Most academic e-books do not work with devices that you might use to read personal e-books, such as a Kindle or Nook (believe me -- this frustrates librarians too!). There is software that you can download onto a PC or iPad, but this can be difficult to use, so if you have a stable internet connection, I recommend reading online. 

However, if you would like to download the software, or if you are having trouble accessing any particular e-book, please feel free to contact us ([email protected]) or see our e-books guide linked below: 

NOTE  that most e-books do have limits on printing. Each publisher has different functionality and rules for downloading and printing ebooks. 

  • How To...Find & Use Ebooks by HC Libraries Research Help Last Updated Mar 12, 2024 22 views this year

Locating Book Chapters:

Locating book chapters that you may want to read can take a little more time. Here are some creative ways that you might find book chapters: 

  • CrossSearch  -- some, but not all, of our books have tables of contents in the catalog that you can check; 
  • Google Books  typically have limited previews, but if you can see enough to locate a helpful chapter, we can get you a copy; 
  • Similarly,  Amazon.com  previews; 
  • Google Scholar  sometimes includes citations for book chapters (and searches across Google Books); 
  • Databases  (some, but not all, include book chapter citations specifically; America History & Life is one); 
  • Citations  in bibliographies of articles, e-books, or other books that you may have checked out before we closed. 

You can also try searching  WorldCat , which searches the collections of libraries around the world (including ours!). Sometimes the information about a book is listed differently in WorldCat, allowing you to find sources that you would never have pulled up in our own catalog. 

A world-wide catalog of books, journals, audiovisual materials, and other sources available in libraries worldwide. Includes direct links to request items on Interlibrary Loan .

Each of these strategies can be used to....

(1) Find the titles of book chapters in our own libraries, or 

(2) Find the titles of book chapters held by other libraries, which can be requested on Interlibrary Loan.

Requesting Book Chapters:

For instructions on how to obtain book chapters that you would like to use, see the Access Options page on this guide. 

CrossSearch

books secondary sources

To leave out individual articles and focus on things like books and films, you can use the  Catalog Only  limit in CrossSearch. 

Search Tips:

Try searching for books using a very basic keyword search. Books tend to be on broad topics, so the terms you search with should be broad, too! Once you've found a few books that look interesting to you, you can use clues from the books to help you find other books. For example.... 

  • Call Numbers . Books on similar subjects are in similar areas of the library.  For example, if you search for books on Palestine, you would see pretty quickly that many books have call numbers starting with DS110 (or nearby). This means you can easily go to that section of the library and look through the books in person! 
  • Vocabulary . Check the records in the library catalog for vocabulary in the tables of contents, titles, descriptions or other information that you might use for future searches.   
  • Subjects . Every book in our catalog is marked with at least 1 "tag" that tells you what the book is mostly about, and links together other books on that same topic. You can click on the tags to find a list of all other books using that tag.  

Find Articles & Journals

  • Recommended Databases

Journals Online

  • Special Search Tools

Journals in the Library

Recommended Databases:

Journal articles, book chapters and magazines about the history of the world ( excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450-present. 

Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century. 

Citations for journal articles, books and chapters about Islam and the Muslim World. 

General (Interdisciplinary)

Journal articles, magazines, and news in almost every subject area. 

In addition to the research databases, you can use the Libraries'   E-Journals Search  to look for articles in specific journals. 

This can be a useful strategy when: 

  • Your professor has recommended specific journals that address your topic; 
  • You notice that the same journals come up frequently while doing your research;
  • You have a citation for a specific article that you would like to read (see the Access Options   tab for more).  

Just make sure not to rely too much on one or two specific journals. To get the broadest perspective possible on your topic, it's best practice to use multiple sources. 

Here are some journals you may want to use as a starting point: 

  • Journal of Imperial & Commonwealth History
  • Journal of Palestine Studies
  • Journal of Holy Land & Palestine Studies
  • Journal of Israeli Studies
  • International Journal of Middle East Studies
  • Journal of Contemporary History
  • Journal of World History

All the information that you will need to find a journal article online, is contained in the article citation. Use the citation to look up the journal in the  E-Journ als Search.   

The E-Journals search is like a cheatsheet for the databases. It will tell you which journals we have online access to, for which dates, and in which databases. You can find some tips for using the E-Journals portal  here . Follow the citation to browse to the journal (and, if applicable, volume and issue) you need. 

Can't find the journal in E-Journals? Check to see if we have a copy in the library. 

One such tool can be found in the  Historical Abstracts  and  America History & Life  databases. Most databases will allow you to search for articles  published  within a certain time-frame, but this is not as useful if you are trying to locate information on a specific historical era -- you won't be looking for (secondary) sources published in the 1800s! 

These databases include Historical Period information for each article, allowing you to search for articles about a specific time period.  

Just like with online journals, everything you need to find a journal article in print in the library can be found in the citation. The steps are just a little bit different! 

To start, search for the  name of the journal  (not the specific article) in CrossSearch or the Library Catalog -- just like you would for a book. 

 If we own the journal, you will see a record like this: 

books secondary sources

In the library, you can use the call number to find the correct journal volume.  Match the volume number and year against the citation. Then, find the issue (if there is one) and page number listed in the citation inside the journal volume. 

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  • Next: Primary Sources >>
  • Last Updated: Mar 28, 2024 2:39 PM
  • URL: https://libguides.holycross.edu/israelpalestine

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PHIL 451 - Homan - Spring 2024: Books

  • Databases, Journals, and Other Guides
  • Research Topic

books secondary sources

Library Catalog Search

What's in the CNU Library? Find books, media materials, and masters' theses - use the box below.

Click on Map It to see the book's location on the shelf in Trible Library.

Remember to check WorldCat Discovery for books that are checked out or not owned by Trible Library. Interlibrary Loan  (ILL),  Virginia Tidewater Consortium  (VTC), and VIVA Cooperative Borrowing Program are options to borrow these books from other libraries.  

Primary Sources

books secondary sources

Meditations on first philosophy with selections from the objections and replies : a Latin-English edition / René Descartes ; edited and translated with textual and philosophical introductions by John Cottingham.

books secondary sources

Discourse on method ; and, Meditations on first philosophy / René Descartes ; translated by Donald A. Cress.

books secondary sources

The philosophical writings of Descartes / translated by John Cottingham, Robert Stoothoff, Dugald Murdoch.

books secondary sources

Philosophical essays and correspondence / René Descartes ; edited, with introduction by Roger Ariew.

books secondary sources

René Descartes : meditations on first philosophy in focus / René Descartes 1596-1650, Stanley Tweyman 1942-

books secondary sources

The correspondence between Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia and René Descartes / Elisabeth Countess Palatine, 1618-1680, Lisa Shapiro (Editor) (Translator), René Descartes 1596-1650.

books secondary sources

Rules for the direction of the mind. Discourse on the method. Meditations on first philosophy. Objections against the meditations and replies. The geometry. / Descartes, René, 1596-1650.

help, guides, tutorials, & information

  • Brill Online Books and Journals
  • Ebooks on EBSCOHost
  • Gale Ebooks
  • Oxford Ebooks
  • Oxford Reference Online
  • ProQuest Ebook Central
  • Taylor & Francis Ebooks

Secondary Sources

books secondary sources

Between two worlds : a reading of Descartes's Meditations / John Carriero.

books secondary sources

The Blackwell guide to Descartes' Meditations / edited by Stephen Gaukroger.

books secondary sources

Cartesian psychophysics and the whole nature of man : on Descartes's passions of the soul / Richard F. Hassing.

books secondary sources

A companion to Descartes / edited by Janet Broughton and John Carriero.

books secondary sources

Descartes and the ingenium : the embodied soul in Cartesianism / edited by Raphaele Garrod, Alexander Marr.

books secondary sources

Descartes in context : essays / Emanuela Scribano.

books secondary sources

Descartes's method : the formation of the subject of science / Tarek R. Dika.

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  • Next: Evaluation >>
  • Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024 10:32 AM
  • URL: https://cnu.libguides.com/phil451_homan_spring2024

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  5. Secondary Sources

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  6. Primary vs. Secondary Sources: Do You Know the Difference?

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  1. Black Books

  2. Primary and Secondary Sources

  3. Mission 7

  4. ONLINE SOURCES AND BOOKS FOR UGC NET PAPER -1 BY SAMEEKSHA JAIN

  5. Primary and Secondary Sources of History

  6. Reluctant Reading in Secondary Schools with Ruth Ennis

COMMENTS

  1. What is a Secondary Source?

    Secondary sources were created by someone who did not experience first-hand or participate in the events or conditions you're researching. For a historical research project, secondary sources are generally scholarly books and articles. A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from ...

  2. Primary vs. Secondary Sources

    What is a secondary source? A secondary source is anything that describes, interprets, evaluates, or analyzes information from primary sources. Common examples include: Books, articles and documentaries that synthesize information on a topic; Synopses and descriptions of artistic works; Encyclopedias and textbooks that summarize information and ideas; Reviews and essays that evaluate or ...

  3. Secondary Sources

    Secondary sources are books, periodicals, web sites, etc. that people write using the information from primary sources. They are not written by eyewitnesses to events, for instance, but use eyewitness accounts, photographs, diaries and other primary sources to reconstruct events or to support a writer's thesis about the events and their meaning.

  4. JSTOR Home

    JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Explore the world's knowledge, cultures, and ideas Explore the world's knowledge, cultures, and ideas Georgia O'Keeffe, Ghost Ranch Landscape (detail), c. 1936. Part of ...

  5. Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Sources

    Secondary sources represent the scholarly conversation that has taken place, or is currently taking place, on a given topic. ... Book or movie reviews ; In the sciences, secondary sources tend to be things like literature reviews (synthesized descriptions of previous scholarship on a topic), systematic reviews (overviews of primary sources on a ...

  6. Books as Secondary Sources

    Books or Monographs[1] The book remains the standard means of written communication for historians. Secondary source books provide analysis and interpretation of primary sources and other secondary works. "The standard type of secondary book in history is the scholarly nonfiction monograph. Intended for an academic audience, it is an ...

  7. 2.4: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources

    Primary Source (Original, Firsthand Information) J.D. Salinger's novel Catcher in the Rye.: Secondary Source (Secondhand Information) A book review of Catcher in the Rye, even if the reviewer has a different opinion than anyone else has ever published about the book- he or she is still just reviewing the original work and all the information about the book here is secondary.

  8. Secondary Sources

    Secondary sources include articles, blogs, books (often called monographs), lectures, podcasts, and scientific reports. Any kind of scholarly liter can be a secondary source. Pro tip: Although the distinction between primary sources and secondary sources is useful, it is not absolute.

  9. Secondary Sources

    Secondary Sources: Basic Resources. America: History and Life (1955- ) includes books, book chapters, journal articles, and book reviews for North American history. Historical Abstracts (1954- ) includes books, book chapters, journal articles (but not book reviews) for non-North American history, 1450-date.

  10. Secondary Sources

    Secondary sources are the published work of scholars specializing in the topic.Secondary sources include scholarly books, articles, and essays (both analyses by contemporary scholars as well as older analyses), surveys, criticism, comparative studies, reference sources, and works on theory and methodology; this is also termed the secondary literature.

  11. Finding Secondary Sources (Books and Articles)

    Have you used a variety of sources? Compare and contrast the information you find with several authors and and array of sources such as books, journal articles, and dissertations. Comparing and contrasting information will help you identify any bias and enhance the validity and reliability of your research.

  12. Primary vs. Secondary

    Secondary Sources are one step removed from primary sources, though they often quote or otherwise use primary sources. They can cover the same topic, but add a layer of interpretation and analysis. ... Secondary sources can include: Most books about a topic. Analysis or interpretation of data. Scholarly or other articles about a topic ...

  13. Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

    Sources of information or evidence are often categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary material. These classifications are based on the originality of the material and the proximity of the source or origin. This informs the reader as to whether the author is reporting information that is first hand or is conveying the experiences and ...

  14. Find Secondary Sources (scholarly articles & books)

    Find primary and secondary sources for American History research. Resources and tips for finding scholarly and peer-reviewed books and journal articles for your research.

  15. How to Read Historical Documents: Reading Secondary Sources

    If the sources were all written from one point of view, for example, this weakens any argument that the historian can make. When reading books as secondary sources. Read the title. Think about what the title promises for the book. Look at the table of contents. This is your "menu" for the book.

  16. What is a secondary source?

    Definition. Secondary sources are sources that describe an event but did not originate in the time period they describe. They were created by someone based on firsthand accounts. They are the second time the event has been described or depicted. In most cases, secondary sources are books or scholarly articles.

  17. Secondary Sources

    Enter the phrase "book review" in the title field along with the title of the book: "Sun Kings" and "book review". General sources include: Academic Search Premier, the Web of Science and Periodicals Index Online (for pre-1995 books). Additional general sources for book reviews. Some of the specialized indexes and bibliographies listed in this ...

  18. Research Guides: *History: Secondary Sources: Books

    Use the bibliographies from these secondary sources to identify primary sources. Search Dissertations & Theses to find recent dissertations on your topic. A recent dissertation will likely have the most up to date bibliography on its topics. Read book reviews for ideas on how other historians have reacted to individual books, and perhaps relate ...

  19. Swisher Library: Bluebook Citation: Secondary Sources

    Secondary sources include books, articles, encyclopedias and other non-primary sources. Each kind of secondary source has a slightly different set of rules for citation. Books. Rule 15 in the Bluebook explains how to properly cite a book. The basic format will include: Full name of the author(s) Book title (underlined or italicized)

  20. Modern World History: World War II: Secondary Sources: Books

    These full-length books will have more specific information about your topic. They are written by scholars and subject experts. The author often presents a new interpretation of your topic based upon a synthesis of based on primary sources, secondary source books, journal articles, and other scholarly materials.

  21. Secondary Source Books

    Donald Kagan (editor) (shelved 1 time as secondary-source) avg rating 3.89 — 82 ratings — published 2013. Want to Read. Rate this book. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. Venus and Aphrodite: A Biography of Desire (Hardcover) by.

  22. Secondary Sources:

    Secondary sources are a great place to begin your research. Although the primary sources of law--case law, statutes, and regulations--establish the law on a given topic, it is often difficult to quickly locate answers in them. ... First, as with any book, use the table of contents and the index to quickly locate relevant sections.

  23. Guides: Prepare to Practice Resources: Secondary Sources

    Secondary sources usually tend to be more straightforward than primary sources as they tend to present the law as a coherent whole and provide a mental framework with which to understand the details that you then glean from specific cases, statutes, and other primary sources. ... These are digitized versions of print books, and so you can ...

  24. Secondary Sources

    May contain many types of sources (scholarly, non-scholarly, multimedia,etc., both secondary and primary) Covers a variety of subject areas; Best place to find books for background on your topic. General (Article) Databases [or CrossSearch] May contain many types of sources (scholarly, non-scholarly, multimedia,etc., all typically secondary)

  25. LibGuides: PHIL 451

    Find books, media materials, and masters' theses - use the box below. ... Primary Sources. Meditations on first philosophy with selections from the objections and replies : a Latin-English edition / René Descartes ; edited and translated with textual and philosophical introductions by John Cottingham. ... Secondary Sources. Between two worlds ...