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History Day - Perkins: Start Here

What are tertiary sources?

Tertiary sources generally provide an overview or summary of a topic and may contain both primary and secondary sources. The information is displayed as entirely factual, and does not include analysis or critique.

  • Helpful for background information and understanding historical events, people, dates.
  • Tertiary sources help you develop ideas and may lead  to primary and secondary sources.
    • Encyclopedias
    • Almanacs
    • Bibliographies
    • Chronologies
    • Dictionaries
    • Directories
    • Fact books
    • Guidebooks
    • Indexes, abstracts, bibliographies used to locate primary and secondary sources
    • Manuals
    • Textbooks

Where to find tertiary sources?

What are secondary sources?

Secondary sources address or analyze events, people, works, or topics.

  • Provides analysis and unique perspectives beyond background information.
  • Check the bibliography for leads to other secondary sources
    • Books
    • Magazine articles
    • Newspaper articles
    • Journal articles

Where to find secondary sources?

What are primary sources?

Primary sources are original artifacts or documents.

  • Primary sources also offer accounts from participants or people directly involved in an event.
    • Speeches
    • Government Documents (Text of laws, treaties, court documents, etc)
    • Interviews
    • Data (census data, scientific studies, poll results, etc)
    • Letters and diaries
    • Magazines, newspapers, and journal articles from the time period of the topic . Check with your teacher if the article can be used as a primary source.

Search Tip: Tertiary and Secondary sources can lead to primary sources.

Click here for the National Archives eBooks collection that offers exhibit guides and books incorporating primary sources.

Where to find primary sources?