Primary source
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[edit] Definition
In research and scholarship, a primary source refers to a document providing original, firsthand evidence of an event or phenomenon. For example, a diary is a primary source for an historical or biographical investigation, while the lab notebook or research report is a primary source for scientific data. Such primary sources are usually considered to be good evidence (when available) about the subject of discussion.
By contrast, a secondary source cites, quotes, interprets, and analyzes primary sources. Examples of secondary sources would include review articles, encyclopediae, textbooks, and reviews.
[edit] Discussion
Because secondary sources are another level removed from the actual events under discussion, they are usually considered to be less reliable than primary sources. For example, the author of a secondary source may have (consciously or unconsciously) chosen to present only part of the data in the primary source, and may have chosen a bad or unrepresentative subset of it. Her interpretations may contain an unwarranted theoretical bias that distort what is being reported. In extreme cases, she may even have invented quotes or deliberately misrepresented what is being said.
[edit] Examples
Some good examples of the perils of relying on secondary sources only can be seen in the page on Argument from Quotation.
