Skip to Main Content

HIST: World History Research

Subject Guide

Types of Sources

Type of Source Definition Examples
Reference Source*
  • type of Secondary Source
  • offers a summary or review of a subject

*often called tertiary source

  • Dictionary
  • Encyclopedia
  • Almanacs
Secondary Source
  • written by someone who did not witness the event
  • created by interpreting and analyzing Primary Sources
  • Textbooks
  • Histories
  • Reviews
Primary Source
  • eyewitness account of an event/place etc...
  • Letters
  • Diaries
  • Autobiographies