Caveat on primary sources: Different disciplines have different definitions of what a primary source is. The definition below is applicable to history and the other humanities. 

What is the difference? 

Primary sources are materials original to the time and/or place you are researching. 

Secondary sources are materials that contain information synthesized from, or an interpretation of, primary sources

Examples of Primary Sources

• Diaries and autobiographies
• Letters 
• Speeches
• Maps 
• Court records 
• News paper articles 
• Pamphlets, broadsides, and other Ephemera 
• Books written in the time period studied 

Examples of Secondary Sources

• Monographs 
• Journal articles 
• Popular magazine or newspaper articles written about a historic event