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Point of View & Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Things to Consider:

  • Does the information express a particular point of view, or is the information balanced — providing all points of view?
[Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology] Some documents attempt to provide objective (not opinionated) information ...
... while others attempt to express subjective or personal views. [Inside the NRA: An Exposé]
  • Is the information a primary or secondary source?


Some assignments require the use of primary sources. Raw data, diaries, letters, manuscripts, and firsthand reports of events — actual evidence of what may have happened — are considered primary sources.


[tabular data from the U.S. Census] [The Kikuchi Diary - firsthand account of a Japanese-American sent to an internment camp during WWII]
[Anne Frank]
primary sources


Information that has been analyzed and interpreted is considered a secondary source.

[an analysis of census data] [Democracy on Trial - a political critique of the U.S. policy toward Japanese-Americans during WWII]
secondary sources

Chapter 5, Page 5

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