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A primary resouce is information that is original, not yet interpreted.

A secondary resource is information that has been interpreted by someone else.

You will be better able to find and use information if you understand how information is often categorized as being primary or secondary.

Primary information is information in its original form, unchanged and unedited. When you interact with primary sources, you personally have to work to interpret and understand them, and to put them into conceptual frameworks to understand them.

Examples of primary works would include: an original copy of the Declaration of Independence; a letter in George W. Bush's handwriting; an oral history interview with an important pioneer settler; diaries; videos of current events as they happen; photographs; autobiographies; original public records.

Secondary information is information that is one or more steps removed from the primary resources on which it is based. Secondary information is a second-hand version, representing someone else's interpretation. It may be a restatement or summary of information taken from primary information sources, but it has been filtered through another person (or persons). Common secondary sources are encyclopedias and handbooks, textbooks, biographies, periodical articles, and historical fiction.