Primary and Secondary Sources: Understanding the Study of History

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Primary source: a direct account or material that was either written or created during the time period of that event.

Secondary source: an account written by historians, often based on a primary source.

Understanding the key differences between primary and secondary sources is essential to becoming a good student of history and a reliable historian. A primary source isn’t necessarily more reliable than a secondary source, they are both either reliable or unreliable. Despite being considered “secondhand information”, secondary sources can actually be more reliable than primary sources because of the careful research and cross-checking done by historians. One of the biggest differences between primary and secondary sources is that primary sources are more than just written accounts. For example, a good primary source could be anything such as a photograph, artifact, record, witness, or building. While there are benefits to using both sources for research, it is often better to use a primary source when you have the option (James Harvey Robinson). Primary sources can allow you to form your own opinions on what you’re studying, rather than letting another author do it for you. However, studying secondary sources can still be a valuable option. You can benefit from the knowledge of historians who have studied the topic extensively while being able to cross-check with the primary source.

Why is it important to study history?

At first, I was not enthusiastic about taking this course because I never enjoyed the study of history throughout high school. Contrary to what I once thought though, history is so much more than just a bunch of memorization, dates, and events. History is all about interpretation; it allows us to find out who we are and where we’ve come from; and it helps explain our decisions, behaviors, and beliefs. If we didn’t study history, we would not benefit from the knowledge of the rich experiences of our ancestors and how they shaped the world we live in today. History is important to study because the only way we can understand the things happening today is by first understanding the past (Stearns). We have no way of predicting the future, so our recourse is to learn from our past. Studying history is also useful for spotting trends and changes in society, religion, and politics. Another reason history is important to study is it helps us to be more open-minded and develop tolerance and empathy by understanding human behavior. History can help you connect more deeply with different parts of the world, people, and cultures. By studying history, you can learn more about who you are, why you do the things you do, and how to better understand and interpret our present world today. I already have gained a new perspective on studying history and I am excited to learn more about who I am in relation to the past.

Works Cited

Harvey Robinson, James. “Internet History Sourcebooks: Medieval Sourcebook.” Fordham University, sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/robinson-sources.asp.

Stansbury, Ronald. “Western History - Introduction.” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhtJ1QrBE3U. Accessed 21 Jan. 2023.

Stearns, Peter N. Why Study History? (1998) | AHA. www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/why-study-history-(1998).