Foundation Year

In Arts and Humanities study, we use the term 'primary source' to mean anything that you are analysing or interpreting as an object of study. Click on the panels to see an explanation and example of different types of Primary Source.

Artefact

Practical objects and tools can be interrogated as primary sources to tell us about the practices, beliefs and priorities of a culture or social group.

Artistic and literary works, including media

Literary and artistic works, such as novels, paintings, films, etc. can be interrogated in several ways. For instance, you may study a novel to analyse the author and their style in comparison to others, as well as for the messages it gives us about the time, place, cultural and social contexts it was written in.

Historical documents and religious texts

News, histories, diaries, laws and scripture, as well as a whole host of other historical sources, offer us essential insights into human understanding of their own times, places and contexts that we can analyse both from our own perspectives and others to try and understand both the past and the present.

So what are 'Secondary sources'?

'Secondary sources' are sources that seek to comment on, explain, interpret or analyse primary sources. Your essays are secondary sources in this way, as are the academic books and articles that you use to support your arguments.

Can Secondary Sources also be Primary Sources?

Yes, absolutely. As a student of an Arts and Humanities subject, you may often be looking at changes in the ways that humans have shaped and understood the world around them. This means that secondary sources can be interrogated as primary sources as well. For example, you may be interested in:

• a biblical commentary, written for a nonconformist Christian denomination in the 16th Century, which you are interrogating from modern Theological perspectives.
• a scientific journal article written in the early 20th century, to demonstrate how assumptions about the unknown and the priorities of research were influenced by cultural factors.
• the introduction to a 19th century novel written for an edition published in 1960s, compared to one written for a contemporary edition, to draw out how cultural readings and interpretation of the novel have changed across time.

In all of these examples, what makes the difference is how you are using the source: if you're using the ideas it contains as a way of supporting your interpretation of another text or object, then you are usually using it as a secondary source. If you are using other texts to comment on, explain, interpret or analyse it as cultural or historical phenomenon, then you are using it as a primary source.