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ET 1000

This content fulfills the Engineering Guarantee+ Milestone 2 requirement and is completed within ET1000

Source Types

Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, so you can be more confident that you are meeting the requirements for the Historical Inquiry Assignment.

Primary sources are first-hand accounts of events or evidence often reported at the time of the event. Primary sources show the information, research, or event as the original material; they display original thought, or report on new discoveries, or share new information.

Examples:

  • Newspaper article written at the time
  • Diary or journal
  • Research article that is not a review or summary (original research/data)
  • Artifacts (fossils, coins, or buildings of another time)
  • Email or original tweet/post (not a re-tweet or share)
  • Scripts of plats or films
  • Patents
  • Photographs or maps or posters
  • Interviews
  • Works of art
  • Video recordings or films
  • Records and reports of organizations or conference proceedings

Secondary sources are reviews, accounts, summaries, or interpretations of the event or evidence (primary source) after they occurred. Normally these kinds of materials add comments or summarize events or evidence with some insight.

Examples:

  • Review research article
  • Books like biographies or about a historical event
  • Commentaries
  • Reviews or summaries

Tertiary sources distill primary and secondary sources. Think of them as a list or reference material or repackaging of an event, idea, or person in a more compact way.

Examples:

  • Wikipedia and other dictionaries and encyclopedias (Could be considered secondary)
  • Fact books
  • Directories or manuals
  • Textbooks
Subjects: Engineering