Difference between Primary and Secondary sources for History IA

[Bluth1234]

Hey guys, 

I am having trouble distinguishing between Primary sources and Secondary sources for my History IA.

Thanks 

[IB_taking_over]

Basically, it has do with who wrote the document.

Primary docs are written by someone there. For example, Das Capital is considered a primary source. It was written by Marx who saw that events he describes. Photos, memoirs, and speeches are often considered primary sources as well. They are often found in archives but that's not the only place to find them. Collected works are also primary sources.

Secondary sources are everything else. Textbooks, history books, etc. They are written by someone who was not there. For example, Russia under the Bolshevik Regime is a secondary source. Pipes, the author, was not alive during the Russian Revolution. So, he relied on primary sources in order to write his book. 

One is not always going to be better than the other one, both have their values and limits. 

[slothlife]

Primary sources originate for someone who experienced the event first-hand whereas secondary sources are basically everything else and are based off of other sources.