Meaning & use
secondary source
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Meaning
nouncountable
A document or account that analyzes or describes events using information gathered from other, original sources.
Grammar: Takes an or the: use a secondary source.
Patterns
- a secondary source for something
- rely on secondary sources
A textbook about the war is a secondary source.
The essay cites both primary and secondary sources.
Secondary sources can help you understand the context of a letter.
Word forms
| plural | secondary sources |
|---|
Common combinations
- cite a secondary source
- Always cite a secondary source properly.
- rely on secondary sources
- The author relies on secondary sources.
- reliable secondary source
- The encyclopedia is a reliable secondary source.
- primary and secondary sources
- Compare primary and secondary sources.
- use a secondary source
- I used a secondary source for background.
Synonyms and how they differ
- commentary
- A commentary explains or reacts to a text, while a secondary source can be any analysis based on earlier material.
- review
- A review evaluates a work, while a secondary source can describe an event in broader terms.
- textbook
- A textbook is one kind of secondary source, not the whole category.
Opposites
Word family
- source noun
- where information comes from
- secondary adjective
- coming second in order or importance
- primary source noun
- an original document or record from the time
- sourcing noun
- the act of finding sources
Commonly confused: secondary source or primary source?
secondary source vs primary source
A primary source is an original item from the time, such as a diary, letter or photograph. A secondary source discusses such things afterward.
Practice
Which is a secondary source about the Roman Empire?
Choose one answer.
A modern history book analyses earlier evidence. The other options are original items from the time and are primary sources.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “secondary source”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.