Records Along the Timeline
Comparing primary vs. secondary resources


Notice the changes in level of interpretation that occur as one moves further away from the original event
 

  Primary Primary Primary Secondary
Type of source: transactional records selective records recollections and reflections analyses
Example:
  • laws 
  • contracts 
  • diplomas
  • pictures 
  • films 
  • videos
    		•
  • diaries 
  • letters 
  • oral history 
  • interviews 
  • memoirs 
    		•
  • accounts of the events as books or articles
    		•
             
    Description: the record is the substance of the action. a recording of an event as it happened. how a participant or observer remembered an event. written by a person who was not there.
    Extent of Interpretation: there is no interpretation. this may not be exactly what happened; it’s just what the camera captured. since this is what was recalled of an event, there is a greater chance that the story has been altered. upon examination of the evidence, a story is written which interprets what happened and why.