A primary source is a firsthand or eyewitness account of information by an individual close to the topic. Examples of primary sources include autobiographies, personal correspondence (e.g., diary entries, letters), government documents, works of art and literature, statistics and data, and newspaper articles written by reporters close to the source. Today, even some social media posts are considered primary sources, because they are firsthand accounts of information.
Source: Evaluating Sources: Where to Begin (Purdue Online Writing Lab OWL)
Common examples of primary sources include interview transcripts, photographs, novels, paintings, films, historical documents, and official statistics.
Ex.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wall-Paper: a Dual-Text Critical Edition. Ohio UP, 2006.
A secondary source is a source that is more removed from an event, usually written after the event has happened. Examples of secondary sources include biographies, interpretation of statistics and data, and anything written after an historical event or analyzing something that already happened (e.g., examining a work of art from 100 years ago).
Source: Evaluating Sources: Where to Begin (Purdue Online Writing Lab OWL)
Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles, reviews, essays, and textbooks.
Ex.
Callum, Morgan. "Isolation as Punishment in "'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" The Explicator, vol. 33, no. 1, 20 Oct 2021, pp. 106-113, 115. doi:10.1080/0049787049026719
