This is the difference between a source written BY someone versus one written ABOUT something that someone else wrote.
A primary source is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about the topic.
One way to think of a primary source is it's the creator's original ideas, thoughts, or observations. They can be:
For most research articles, you'll find all of these elements as headings and subheadings:
As you progress in your studies, you'll be using primary sources more and more for research papers in your upper-level classes. The definition shifts a bit between the disciplines and can include such things as:
Social Sciences and Health Sciences
Fine Arts
History
They are someone's interpretation or analysis of another person's original work. Secondary sources will support, refute or review the original idea, so can help you prove the point you set out to make in your research paper.
They're an important part of the "scholarly conversation" in that they're responding to someone else's ideas and ensuing research.
You'll find them in academic books and articles.
Tertiary sources consist of primary and secondary source information which has been collected and distilled. They present summaries of or an introduction to the current state of research on a topic.
Some common examples of sources that can be tertiary are:
These sources are great places to begin your research as they provide introductory or background information on a topic, such as definitions and explanations of important terms and concepts. However, these sources aren't providing any new thoughts or interpretation to the scholarly conversation on the topic.
Wikipedia is an example of a tertiary source.