FYS 161: Media Cultures

Primary sources in the arts and most humanities disciplines are original, creative works. These include literary and musical compositions, paintings and studio works, photographs, and much more. Primary sources in history are the surviving records—traditionally texts but also material cultural remains and visual imagery—that date to the period under consideration (e.g., historical newspaper articles; memoirs and personal narratives; government documents).

In the arts, humanities, and history, secondary sources are based on primary sources. Common formats include monographs (books) written for other scholars and peer-reviewed journal articles. Scholars leverage primary works to answer unresolved disciplinary questions, but also to question disciplinary consensus and challenge stale narratives.

For more on primary and secondary sources as well as a brief expiation of tertiary sources, see the What Are Primary Sources? page of my Primary Sources libguide. If you decide to cite a website found on the open web (as opposed to the library's licensed databases and other resources available from this guide), review the Website Evaluation libguide.

Why reference?

• Reference books—sometimes called tertiary sources—are two steps removed from the primary source evidence.
• Reference books are based on or reveal secondary sources (e.g., peer-reviewed journal articles).
• Reference books help researchers to choose, refine, and/or contextualize their topics.
• Reference books help researchers to select the most effective search terms (i.e., keywords).