⊿ Point. {R} Glossary. ◢ Keyword: P. ◥ University. {q} PhD. {tr} Training. ⚫ UK. ↂ EndNote. ☝️ Weerakkody. ✊ Norwich (2019) Primary source. This wall painting found in the Roman city of Pompeii is an example of a primary source about people in Pompeii in Roman times. Primary sources are original materials that have not been altered or distorted in any way.[1] Information for which the writer has no personal knowledge is not primary, although it may be used by historians in the absence of a primary source.
In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called original source or evidence) is an artifact, a document, a recording, or other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about the topic. Similar definitions are used in library science, and other areas of scholarship, although different fields have somewhat different definitions.[2] In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document written by such a person. The significance of source classification[edit] Other fields[edit]