Wikipedia:No original research/Sandbox/Various examples

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For discussions about "these examples", see Wikipedia talk:No original research/Sandbox/Various examples.

Here are some various definitions of PSTS:

[edit] Library Science usage(?)

Definitions of a primary source:

• "Manuscripts, records, or documents providing original research or documentation." [1]
• "Primary sources contain original information and are usually the place where the original information first appears. Examples of primary sources include interviews, diaries, letters, speeches, results of experiments or original research, literary works, autobiographies, original theories, and other materials. Compare to secondary source."[2]
• "An original work such as a book, manuscript, or document produced by an author. A book can also be a secondary source. A scientific or scholarly journal article is usually a primary source."[3]
• "The main source used to defend a research question. For example, critical essays, documented studies, scholarly or technical journals, or interviews with experts."[4]
• "Information which has not been interpreted by another person, ie, original articulation of an idea or concept."[5]

Definitions of a secondary source:

• "second-hand report or review of original research that is written by someone other than the original researcher"[6]
• "A secondary source is a record or statement of an event or circumstance made by a non-eyewitness or by someone not closely connected with the event or circumstances, recorded or stated verbally either at or sometime after the event, or by an eye-witness at a time after the event when the fallibility of memory is an important factor." Derek Harland, A Basic Course in Genealogy: Volume two, Research Procedure and Evaluation of Evidence, (Bookcraft Inc, 1958)
• "A secondary historical source is a report about the past which does not have authority. A book by a scholar about history is a secondary source. Thus, González' textbook Story of Christianity is a secondary source. You can't prove anything about the past from a secondary source." [7]
• "The distinction between primary and secondary sources is only meaningful when applied to symbolic sources. Moreover, the distinction is not a sharp one. Since a source is only a source in a specific historical context, the same source object can be both a primary or secondary source according to what it is used for. Duhem's la theorie physique will be a useful secondary source for the historian who wishes to study the history of the theries of gravitation; it will be a fine primary source for the historian who wishes to investigate positivist views of science at the turn of the century." [8]
• "A primary source is a document in which an event is described by its witnesses or first recorders, for example: The Diaries of LouisRiel (McL FC3217.1 R54A3). It is the raw material or data which the historian must evaluate in studying the history of a period, event, or individual. The historian produces a secondary source based on primary sources, e.g. Prairie Fire: the 1885 North-WestRebellion by B.Beal and R.Macleod (McL FC3215 B42 1984). The concept is relative: any document may be used as a primary source. For example, if you were to study the historiography of the Riel Rebellion, the book by Beal and Macleod may be used as a primary source." [9]

There are, of course, sloppier definitions of secondary sources. Some say that a secondary source is something that comments on a primary source. And yes, that's very true: if something comments on a primary source or contains analysis about prior materials, it's definitely a secondary source. But if the commentary is original research, it's also a primary source as to that new idea. The terms are relative, and it all depends on what you are focusing on, and sources can be both primary and secondary. But why do we even need to even go there? The concepts of primary and secondary are confusing, and not always interpreted consistently. The ambiguity between primary and secondary sources is all very complicated, and this whole area really has no place in a policy article addressed to lay editors. This is stuff that PhDs debate about. How can we expect the average Wikipedia editor to understand and apply this? COGDEN 23:55, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

The second and third links under primary sources are dead (404 errors). For reference, those represent the library science definition of primary sources. Vassyana 00:30, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Another definition of primary source

What is a primary source? A primary source is a source that was created during or immediately after the event or period it documents.... Primary sources can be distinguised from secondary sources, which are are sources created at some later time. A description of Ellis Island at the beginning of the 20th century, if written today, would be considered a secondary source (although it might be based on primary sources.) Primary sources are useful because they can give detailed information about a place, time period or event, as well as because they give us insight into the views and experiences of people without showing them through the lens of later events. Internet Public Library (New York City History)

[edit] Examples of source classification in various topic areas

Primary sources What are they?

Some definitions

The definition of a primary source varies depending upon the academic discipline and the context in which it is used.

In the humanities, a primary source could be defined as something that was created either during the time period being studied or afterward by individuals reflecting on their involvement in the events of that time.

In the social sciences, the definition of a primary source would be expanded to include numerical data that has been gathered to analyze relationships between people, events, and their environment.

In the natural sciences, a primary source could be defined as a report of original findings or ideas. These sources often appear in the form of research articles with sections on methods and results.

Primary sources in context

The classification of a source as primary, secondary or tertiary is determined by the way a writer of a Wikipedia article makes use of it. The same item might be considered a primary source in one investigation and a secondary source in another. For example, a speech about the Declaration of Independence that was delivered by a noted statesman on its hundredth anniversary would be secondary source for a scholar studying the document's philosophical origins. But, it would be a primary source for a scholar studying how the Declaration's meaning has changed for Americans over time.

The value of a source is also determined by its use. A memoir written by a signer of the Declaration of Independence years after the event would be of much more importance to a historian studying the debates of the Continental Congress than would the diary entry of an individual who lived in Philadelphia in 1776, but had no personal interaction with the Congress or its members.

Examples by discipline The sources available to you in your undergraduate research could often be more accurately described as primary source surrogates. For example, instead of examining an individual's diary directly, you may find yourself using reproduced images of its pages—or, more likely yet, a typed transcription of its contents. Or, instead of experiencing a sculpture firsthand, you may be dependent upon photographs of it. Obviously, some primary source surrogates are better than others.

If you are unsure of what would be considered a primary source for your particular project, ask your professor for examples. The following is an incomplete list of things that might be considered primary sources by different academic disciplines.

Anthropology field notes, photographs, first published material of researchers

Art architectural model or drawing, building or structure, letter, motion picture, organizational records, painting, personal account, photograph, print, sculpture, sketch book

Biology field notes, research reports of field researchers, published experimental results or published research by those who conducted the experiment or research

Chemistry experimental notes, published experimental results or research reports by those who conducted the experiment or research, theoretical thesis

Economics company statistics, consumer survey, data series

Engineering map, geological survey, patent, schematic drawing, technical report

Government government report, interview, letter, news report, personal account, press release, public opinion survey, speech, treaty or international agreement

History artifact, diary, government report, interview, letter, map, news report, oral history, organizational records, photograph, speech, work of art

Law code, statute, court opinion, legislative report

Literature contemporary review, interview, letter, manuscript, personal account, published work

Music contemporary review, letter, personal account, score, sound recording

Philosophy seminal works by leading philosophers, e.g. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Bacon, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Peirce, Wittgenstein, Sartre, Derrida, etc.

Physics experimental notes, published experimental results or research reports by those who conducted the experiment or research, theoretical thesis

Psychology case study, clinical case report, experimental replication, follow-up study, longitudinal study, treatment outcome study

Sociology cultural artifact, interview, oral history, organizational records, statistical data, survey Lafayette College Libraries & Academic Information Resources