Primary vs Secondary Sources

Understanding source types isn’t just academic jargon — it helps you make better decisions in your work. Using the right type of source for the right purpose strengthens your argument, shows critical thinking, and meets the expectations of your subject.

Your reading list is a great starting point. It often includes a mix of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources — carefully selected to support your learning. But as you move through your degree, especially in later undergraduate years and beyond, you’ll be expected to go beyond the reading list. That means finding your own sources, evaluating their quality, and explaining why they’re relevant.

For example, using primary data shows original analysis, while secondary sources help you build on expert insight. If you confuse the two, you might misrepresent evidence or rely on weak foundations. Knowing the difference helps you choose wisely — and meet the demands of different assignments, from essays and reports to literature reviews and dissertations.

As you progress through university, expectations around your use of sources become more demanding.

Undergraduates (UG) are typically expected to identify and use a range of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources — especially in essays, reports, and projects. You may be introduced to grey literature and basic evaluation skills in first year, with greater emphasis on selecting and justifying your sources in later years.

Postgraduate taught (PGT) students are usually required to evaluate sources critically and justify their inclusion based on methodological relevance or academic rigour — especially in literature reviews, dissertations, or applied assignments. Grey literature and technical standards often play a more prominent role at this level.

Postgraduate researchers (PGR) need to develop their own primary data, make methodologically informed decisions about which secondary sources to engage with, and often draw on unpublished or emerging materials such as working papers, conference proceedings, or datasets. A strong understanding of the information lifecycle and source type distinctions is essential at this stage.

Understanding the differences between source types — and how to use them strategically — helps you build a stronger foundation for academic success at every level.

Understanding how sources differ starts with three key concepts:

• Proximity to the original event or data — How close is the source to the original idea, event, or object?
  
  
• Position in the information lifecycle — Was it created immediately, or much later as part of a broader analysis?
  
  
• Function in academic research — Are you using the source as raw evidence, interpretation, background, or context?

Looking for help deciding if a source is academic or popular? See our guide to Academic vs Non-Academic Sources.

Different source types serve different purposes in research. Understanding where a source sits in the information lifecycle can help you use it effectively.

Information about an event or topic is created and shared in stages:

• Immediately — Social media, technical blogs, news reports

• Shortly after — Magazine features, industry white papers, commentaries

• Months later — Journal articles, academic analysis

• Years later — Books, encyclopedias, meta-analyses

Each stage offers different types of insight depending on how close it is to the original data or event — reinforcing the idea that proximity is a key factor in how sources are classified.

Note: In fast-moving fields like cybersecurity or digital media, industry reports or blogs may appear before academic analysis — and may be more up to date. Always evaluate carefully.

Note: In fast-moving fields like cybersecurity or digital media, industry reports or blogs may appear before academic analysis — and may be more up to date. Evaluate carefully.

Use this table to compare the most common source types:

Note: Audiovisual and online sources are formats, not fixed types. Their classification depends on your purpose and how you use them.

Note: Some sources don’t fit neatly into a single category. Conference proceedings, for example, can be primary, secondary, or grey literature depending on how they’re published and used. Peer-reviewed conference papers from publishers like ACM or IEEE are typically treated as formal academic sources. Others — especially informal or pre-print outputs — may fall under grey literature.

What they are: Original materials or first-hand evidence. These are the "raw materials" of your research and are especially important in creative, scientific, or historical work.

When to use them: Use primary sources when you want direct evidence or when you're analysing the source itself.

Examples include:

• Historical documents, letters, interviews
• Statistical datasets from government sources (e.g. ONS, WHO)
• Conference papers presenting new research
• Research data, lab results, surveys
• Creative works (novels, films, art, games)
• Legal documents, official records
• Source code or technical designs in Computing or Games

What they are: Secondary sources interpret, analyse, or evaluate primary materials. In many disciplines, these are the most common academic sources.

Note: A journal article is primary if it reports original research, but secondary if it reviews or discusses other work.

When to use them: Use them to build your argument using established research or to place your work in context.

Examples include:

• Journal articles analysing data or events
• Critical essays or commentaries
• Review papers or keynote speeches from conferences
• Biographies or historical accounts
• Meta-analyses in Psychology
• Legal commentaries or case summaries in Law

What it is: Research material not published through traditional academic channels. It’s often produced by governments, NGOs, industry, or think tanks.

When to use it: Use grey literature when you need current, practical, or policy-focused insights not yet covered in academic journals.

Examples include:

• Technical reports

• White papers

• Policy briefs

• Working papers

• Professional guidelines in Health or Psychology

• Standards and specifications in Engineering or Computing (e.g. British Standards, ISO)

Important: Grey literature is especially valuable in applied and professional disciplines — but it varies in quality.

Always consider the author’s expertise, publication source, and potential bias.

Grey literature often falls between academic and non-academic sources — it may be expert-produced but not peer-reviewed. See our How to Evaluate Information Effectively for more detail.

What it is: Research material not published through traditional academic channels. It’s often produced by governments, NGOs, industry, or think tanks.

When to use it: Use grey literature when you need current, practical, or policy-focused insights not yet covered in academic journals.

Examples include:

• Technical reports

• White papers

• Policy briefs

• Working papers

• Professional guidelines in Health or Psychology

• Standards and specifications in Engineering or Computing

Important: Grey literature is especially valuable in applied and professional disciplines — but it varies in quality.

Always consider the author’s expertise, publication source, and potential bias.

Grey literature often falls between academic and non-academic sources — it may be expert-produced but not peer-reviewed. See our Academic vs Non-Academic Sources guide for more detail.

What they are: Audiovisual sources include recordings, broadcasts, and multimedia. Their classification depends on your subject and how you use them.

When to use them: Use when the visual or audio content is the focus of your analysis or supports your argument.

Examples include:

• Documentaries

• Podcasts

• Video lectures

• Images or artworks

• Gameplay footage, walkthroughs, or speedruns (in Game Studies)

• Player-created content or mods (as creative artefacts)

What they are: Any content accessed digitally. “Online” is a format — the actual source type (primary, secondary, etc.) depends on content and use.

When to use them: Use with care. Born-digital content may not be permanent and can vary in credibility.

Key considerations:

• Distinguish between digitised traditional content (e.g. a scanned book) and born-digital sources (e.g. blogs or forums).

• Be aware of version control, link rot, and web archiving.

• Social media content (e.g. tweets, Reddit posts) may count as primary data depending on your project.

Examples include:

• Blogs or reflective practitioner posts

• Digital archives

• Online newspapers

• GitHub repositories (in Computing or Cybersecurity)

What they are: Case studies are in-depth examinations of a single situation, person, group, business, or event. They may draw on primary, secondary, or mixed sources.

When to use them: Case studies are widely used in both academic research and professional practice. They’re especially valuable when exploring complex, real-world contexts.

Examples include:

• Business case studies of companies or industries

• Legal case summaries and applications

• Psychological case reports

• Project or implementation case studies in Engineering or Computing

While the categories of source types are consistent, how they appear in practice depends on your subject. This table shows examples from across Abertay disciplines: