Slave narratives preserved on microfilm.
is an example of a mircofilm colletion, housed at the Library of Congress, that has been digatized and is freely available.
The book by DoVeanna Fulton
American photographer Man Ray's photograph of a flat-iron called ” (The Gift)
Peggy Schrock's article called Ray Le cadeau: the unnatural woman and the de-sexing of modern man published in .
published in the
A review of the literature on college student drinking intervention which uses the article in an analysis entitled: drinking: A meta-analytic review, published in the journal
U.S. Government
An article which used samples of census data entitled: " published in the journal
Research versus Review
Scientific and other peer reviewed journals are excellent sources for primary research sources. However, not every article in those journals will be an article with original research. Some will include book reviews and other materials that are more obviously secondary sources . More difficult to differentiate from original research articles are review articles . Both types of articles will end with a list of References (or Works Cited). Review articles are often as lengthy or even longer that original research articles. What the authors of review articles are doing is analysing and evaluating current research or investigations related to a specific topic, field, or problem. They are not primary sources since they review previously published material. They can be helpful for identifying potentially good primary sources, but they aren't primary themselves. Primary research articles can be identified by a commonly used format. If an article contains the following elements, you can count on it being a primary research article. Look for sections entitled Methods (sometimes with variations, such as Materials and Methods), Results (usually followed with charts and statistical tables), and Discussion . You can also read the abstract to get a good sense of the kind of article that is being presented. If it is a review article instead of a research article, the abstract should make that clear. If there is no abstract at all, that in itself may be a sign that it is not a primary resource. Short research articles, such as those found in Science and similar scientific publications that mix news, editorials, and forums with research reports, may not include any of those elements. In those cases look at the words the authors use, phrases such as "we tested," "we used," and "in our study, we measured" will tell you that the article is reporting on original research.
Primary or Secondary: You Decide
The distinction between types of sources can get tricky, because a secondary source may also be a primary source. DoVeanna Fulton's book on slave narratives, for example, can be looked at as both a secondary and a primary source. The distinction may depend on how you are using the source and the nature of your research. If you are researching slave narratives, the book would be a secondary source because Fulton is commenting on the narratives. If your assignment is to write a book review of Speaking Power , the book becomes a primary source, because you are commenting, evaluating, and discussing DoVeanna Fulton's ideas.
You can't always determine if something is primary or secondary just because of the source it is found in. Articles in newspapers and magazines are usually considered secondary sources. However, if a story in a newspaper about the Iraq war is an eyewitness account, that would be a primary source. If the reporter, however, includes additional materials he or she has gathered through interviews or other investigations, the article would be a secondary source. An interview in the Rolling Stone with Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes would be a primary source, but a review of the latest Black Crowes album would be a secondary source. In contrast, scholarly journals include research articles with primary materials, but they also have review articles that are not, or in some disciplines include articles where scholars are looking at primary source materials and coming to new conclusions.
For your thinking and not just to confuse you even further, some experts include tertiary sources as an additional distinction to make. These are sources that compile or, especially, digest other sources. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered tertiary sources when their chief purpose is to list or briefly summarize or, from an even further removed distance, repackage ideas. This is the reason that you may be advised not to include an encyclopedia article in a final bibliography.
The above material was adapted from the excellent explanation written by John Henderson found on Ithaca College's library website http://www.ithacalibrary.com/sp/subjects/primary and is used with permission.
Service update: Some parts of the Library’s website will be down for maintenance on July 7.
Introduction to primary source research, definitions, examples of primary sources by discipline, head of bancroft public services.
A primary source is an eyewitness account of an event or data obtained through original statistical or scientific research.
What are some examples of primary sources?
Secondary Source
A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may include pictures of primary sources or quotes from them. Some types of secondary sources include: journal/magazine articles, textbooks, commentaries, and encyclopedias.
Newspapers may be either primary or secondary. Most articles in newspapers are secondary, but reporters may be considered as witnesses to an event. Any topic on the media coverage of an event or phenomenon would treat newspapers as a primary source.
Discipline | Primary Source | Secondary Source |
---|---|---|
Art | Sketch Book | Conference proceedings on French Impressionism |
History | Emancipation Proclamation (1863) | Book on the anti-slavery struggle |
Journalism | Interview | Biography of publisher Katherine Meyer Graham |
Law | Legislative Hearing | Law review article on anti-terrorism legislation |
Literature | Novel | Literary criticism on |
Music | Score of an opera | Biography of composer Georges Bizet |
Political Science | Public Opinion Poll | Newspaper article on campaign finance reform |
Rhetoric | Speech | Editorial comment on Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech |
Sociology | Voter Registry | Ph.D. dissertation on Hispanic voting patterns |
Source: https://guides.libraries.indiana.edu/primarysources
What are primary sources .
Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to the truth of what actually happened during an historical event or time period. Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied. A primary source (also called original source ) is a document, recording, artifact, or other source of information that was created at the time under study, usually by a source with direct personal knowledge of the events being described. It serves as an original source of information about the topic.
Similar definitions are used in library science , and other areas of scholarship. In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document created by such a person. Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources , which cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources, though the distinction is not a sharp one.
TITLE: [Scene from Othello with Paul Robeson as Othello and Uta Hagen as Desdemona, Theatre Guild Production, Broadway, 1943-44] http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robeson_Hagen_Othello.jpg SOURCE:Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540
The Billy Rose Theatre Collection of The New York Public Library is one of the largest and most comprehensive archives devoted to the theatrical arts. This image is a work of an employee of the United States Farm Security Administration or Office of War Information domestic photographic units, created during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.
An advert for P.T. Barnum's "Feejee Mermaid" in 1842 or thereabout. Author: P. T. Barnum or an employee, Source: Newspaper advert commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Barnum_mermai... This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Cushman_in_Ha... , The American actress Charlotte Cushman advertised in William Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Washington Theater in 1861. Author:Washington Theater, SOURCE:Public Library of Congress. this image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
Many library subject guides contain sections on primary sources for those subjects. BELOW you can also see a list of research guides that have been tagged "primary sources."
Still have questions? Please get in touch with the librarian for your subject area for more information about specific primary sources in your field.
*This material is used with permission from the University of Pittsburgh Library's research guide on Primary Sources
The definition of a primary source varies depending upon the academic discipline and the context in which it is used.
1. In the humanities , a primary source could be defined as something that was created either during the time period being studied or afterward by individuals reflecting on their involvement in the events of that time.
Examples from the humanities:
Art: painting, photograph, print, sculpture, film or other work of art, sketch book, architectural model or drawing, building or structure, letter, organizational records, personal account by artist History: artifact, diary, government report, interview, letter, map, news report, oral history, organizational records, photograph, speech, work of art Literature: interview, letter, manuscript, personal account by writer, poem, work of fiction or drama, contemporary review Music: score, sound recording, contemporary review, letter, personal account by composer or musician
2. In the social sciences , the definition of a primary source would be expanded to include numerical data that has been gathered to analyze relationships between people, events, and their environment.
Examples from the social sciences:
Anthropology: artifact, field notes, fossil, photograph Business: market research or surveys, anything that documents a corporation's activities, such as annual reports, meeting minutes, legal documents, marketing materials, and financial records. Communication: websites, blogs, broadcast recordings and transcripts, advertisements and commercials, public opinion polls, and magazines (e.g., Rolling Stone ). Economics: company statistics, consumer survey, data series Geography: field notes, census data, maps, satellite images, and aerial photographs. Law: code, statute, court opinion, legislative report Psychology: case study, clinical case report, experimental replication, follow-up study, longitudinal study, treatment outcome study Sociology: cultural artifact, interview, oral history, organizational records, statistical data, survey
3. In the natural sciences , a primary source could be defined as a report of original findings or ideas. These sources often appear in the form of research articles with sections on methods and results.
Examples in the natural sciences:
Biology, Chemistry, etc: research or lab notes, genetic evidence, plant specimens, technical reports, and other reports of original research or discoveries (e.g., conference papers and proceedings, dissertations, scholarly articles).
*This material is used with permission from the Lafayette College Library research guide on primary sources . Image 1: "Massachusetts Bay Colony 1776" CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Tom Woodward: Flickr Image 2: "data" CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 CyberHades: Flickr Image 3: "Katydid 50x Magnification Wing, Coventry, CT" CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Macroscopic Solutions: Flickr
Primary sources typically include such items as:
Primary sources sometimes can be ambiguous and contradictory, relecting a specific person's opinions and contemporary cultural influences on them. For that very reason such sources are invaluable tools for developing your own interpretations and reaching your own conclusions about what is going on at a point in time.
Primary sources.
A primary source is a piece of evidence created during the time you are studying. These sources offer an eye-witness view of a particular event. They can be any type of format, as long as you as the researcher are looking for the source's context: Who made this, and what was their perspective? What other sources describe the same events? Whose perspective isn't represented, and where can you find it? What was the world like when this thing was made? With primary sources, you will ask a lot of questions!
Some common types of records used as primary sources include:
Remember: you have to find context for your primary sources.
Definition of a secondary source:.
A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. Some common types of secondary sources include:
Remember: a secondary source is making an argument based on research from other primary and secondary sources.
Different academic disciplines have different definitions of what constitutes a primary source:.
In the Humanities (history, literature, religion), primary sources focus on original documents or accounts contemporary to a specific event or an individual’s life. Terms such as “eyewitness” or “firsthand” are also commonly used to describe these sources. Autobiographical accounts written at a later date are also considered primary sources. Letters, diaries, journal entries, public records as well as contemporaneous newspapers articles offer solid examples of this type of primary source. Fictional works such as short stories or novels written during that specific time period constitute primary documents, too.
In the Arts (art, dance, music, theatre), primary sources are as diverse as the various disciplines in the category. They may include paintings, sculpture, prints, performances, video or audio recordings, scripts, or musical scores. Social Sciences (psychology, sociology, education) place a heavy emphasis on unanalyzed data sets as primary sources. Numerical data sets such as census figures, opinion polls, surveys or interview transcripts constitute this type of raw, uninterpreted data. A researcher’s field notes are also primary sources in the social sciences. In the Sciences (biology, ecology, chemistry), primary source documents focus on original research, ideas, or findings published in academic journals. These articles mark the first publication of such research; and they detail the researcher’s methodology and results. Plant or mineral samples and other artifacts are primary sources as well.
In STEM fields , primary sources may include papers or proceedings from scientific conferences; journal articles sharing original research, technical reports, patents, lab notes, and researcher correspondence or diaries.
Portions borrowed from Berea College Hutchins Library
Are you using a primary source?
It depends on the questions you're asking!
Primary vs. secondary sources, differentiating primary and secondary sources in each discipline.
While primary sources offer a firsthand account, secondary sources are written after the fact. Secondary sources analyze, interpret, explain, or analyze a primary source, event or individual. These resources represent a second publication cycle, tasked with presenting an argument or to persuade the reader.
Discipline | Primary Source | Secondary Source |
---|---|---|
Archaeology | farming tools | treatise on innovative analysis of neolithic artifacts |
Art | sketch book | conference proceedings on French Impressionists |
History | Emancipation Proclamation (1863) | book on the anti-slavery struggle |
Journalism | interview | biography of publisher Katherine Myer Graham |
Law | legislative hearing | law review article on anti-terrorism legislation |
Literature | novel | literary criticism on The Name of the Rose |
Music | score of an opera | biography of composer Georges Bizet |
Political Science | public opinion poll | newspaper article on campaign finance reform |
Rhetoric | speech | editorial comment on Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech |
Sociology | voter registry | Ph.D. dissertation on Hispanic voting patterns |
Borrowed from Indiana University Bloomington Libraries
Understanding research sources.
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A primary source is a first-hand account from a person or organization who:
Some examples of primary sources include:
Why are primary sources useful? Primary sources are useful to:
A secondary source has the following qualities:
Some examples of secondary sources include:
Why are secondary sources useful? Secondary sources are useful because they:
Remember, secondary sources are often based on studying and analyzing primary sources . Another way to think about it? Your research paper is a secondary source because you're analyzing and interpreting other sources.
A tertiary source has the following qualities:
Some examples of tertiary sources include:
Why are tertiary sources useful? Tertiary sources are useful because they help you:
One area of study at Central Piedmont where primary sources are often used is History . Here are some examples:
Another area of study at Central Piedmont where primary sources often come into play is English . Here are some examples:
One other area of study at Central Piedmont where primary sources often come into play is Communications . Here are some examples:
Credit : Austin Community College's Primary Sources guide served as the inspiration and model for this LibGuide.
Raynor Library
Primary source research, primary sources at marquette, what is a primary source, is it a primary source, what are some examples of primary sources.
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This is introductory description of what can be considered a primary source for the purposes of a research paper. Students and faculty have access to a wide range of primary source databases. It is highly recommended that student contact a liaison librarian for a research consultation when undertaking a research project using these sources. See the link below to set up a consult:
There are many resources for primary source materials at Marquette. Physical examples of these include newspaper microfilms, government or non-profit reports, reproductions of historical documents or text, and published diaries or autobiographies. The link below connects to digitized primary sources databases that can accessed by Marquette students and faculty. Please use the research consultation link above for guidance on any of these materials.
A primary source is a first-hand or contemporary account of an event. Primary sources date to the time an event took place and offer original account or thoughts on a topic that has not been framed by second-hand interpretation. Primary sources are usually original materials, but they may be reproduced digitally or republished in a physical format.
This guide from Fresno State University can help you determine if something is a Primary Source. If you answer 'yes' to any of the following questions, the resource is most like a Primary Source.
Please note that, in the correct context, many things that are typically considered to be Secondary Sources - such as autobiographies or books about an event or historical period - can also be considered primary sources. For example, if you are writing an analysis of how historians have viewed a certain event over time, written histories on the event can be used as primary sources.
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Primary Sources Primary sources are the "materials on a topic upon which subsequent interpretations or studies are based, anything from firsthand documents such as poems, diaries, court records, and interviews to research results generated by experiments, surveys, ethnographies, and so on."*
Primary sources are records of events as they are first described, usually by witnesses or people who were involved in the event. Many primary sources were created at the time of the event but can also include memoirs, oral interviews, or accounts that were recorded later.
Visual materials, such as photos, original artwork, posters, and films are important primary sources, not only for the factual information they contain, but also for the insight they may provide into how people view their world. Primary sources may also include sets of data, such as census statistics, which have been tabulated but not interpreted. However, in the sciences or social sciences, primary sources report the results of an experiment.
It can sometimes be difficult to determine whether a particular source is primary or secondary, because the same source can be a primary source for one topic and a secondary source for another topic. David McCullough’s biography, John Adams , could be a secondary source for a paper about John Adams but a primary source for a paper about how various historians have interpreted the life of John Adams.
*From Hairston, Maxine and John J. Ruszkiewicz. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers. 4th ed. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1996, pg. 547.
Secondary Sources Secondary sources offer an analysis or a restatement of primary sources. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources. Some secondary sources not only analyze primary sources, but also use them to argue a contention or persuade the reader to hold a certain opinion. Examples of secondary sources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, and books and articles that interpret, analyze, or review research works.
More Examples of Primary and Secondary Sources
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Primary research is any type of research that you collect yourself. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and ethnographic research. A good researcher knows how to use both primary and secondary sources in their writing and to integrate them in a cohesive fashion.
Conducting primary research is a useful skill to acquire as it can greatly supplement your research in secondary sources, such as journals, magazines, or books. You can also use it as the focus of your writing project. Primary research is an excellent skill to learn as it can be useful in a variety of settings including business, personal, and academic.
With some careful planning, primary research can be done by anyone, even students new to writing at the university level. The information provided on this page will help you get started.
When you are working on a local problem that may not have been addressed before and little research is there to back it up.
When you are working on writing about a specific group of people or a specific person.
When you are working on a topic that is relatively new or original and few publications exist on the subject.
You can also use primary research to confirm or dispute national results with local trends.
Many types of primary research exist. This guide is designed to provide you with an overview of primary research that is often done in writing classes.
Interviews: Interviews are one-on-one or small group question and answer sessions. Interviews will provide a lot of information from a small number of people and are useful when you want to get an expert or knowledgeable opinion on a subject.
Surveys: Surveys are a form of questioning that is more rigid than interviews and that involve larger groups of people. Surveys will provide a limited amount of information from a large group of people and are useful when you want to learn what a larger population thinks.
Observations: Observations involve taking organized notes about occurrences in the world. Observations provide you insight about specific people, events, or locales and are useful when you want to learn more about an event without the biased viewpoint of an interview.
Analysis: Analysis involves collecting data and organizing it in some fashion based on criteria you develop. They are useful when you want to find some trend or pattern. A type of analysis would be to record commercials on three major television networks and analyze gender roles.
Consider the following questions when beginning to think about conducting primary research:
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Finding primary sources.
The Library of Congress makes millions of unique primary sources available online to everyone, everywhere. There are a few different ways to discover the best primary sources for you.
Primary Source Sets – Each set collects primary sources on a specific frequently-taught topic, along with historical background information and teaching ideas.
Free to Use and Reuse Sets – Batches of primary sources on engaging topics.
U.S. History Primary Sources Timeline – Explore important topics and moments in U.S. history through historical primary sources from the Library’s collections.
Successful searches of the online collections of the Library of Congress, as with any archival research institution, begin with an understanding of what is likely to be found. Many considerations, including copyright, collection strengths, and how materials were acquired, factor into what can be digitized and made available online. The Library’s online collections are extensive, but they do have limits, and are strongest in the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century.
Use the search box at the top of the Library of Congress home page . A few tips:
Congress.gov – Explore current and historic information on bills, laws and the legislative branch of the government.
Chronicling America – Access historic newspapers from all fifty states and the District of Columbia for accounts of historic and everyday events as reported at the time they happened.
Teaching with the Library blog – Short (500 words or less) posts featuring primary sources and teaching ideas.
Other Library blogs offer tips on finding Library resources, suggestions for other search terms or research ideas, and expert secondary information.
Today in History – Provides information and links to primary sources about a specific event in history.
Research Guides - In-depth guides to Library resources on a wide variety of topics.
Ask a Librarian – Send a question to a Library of Congress reference librarian. We're happy to help!
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I have to write a research paper using primary sources. where do i start.
Primary sources are created by individuals who participated in or witnessed an event and recorded that event during or immediately after the event.
A student activist during the war writing about protest activities has created a memoir. This would be a primary source because the information is based on her own involvement in the events she describes. Similarly, an antiwar speech is a primary source. So is the arrest record of student protesters. A newspaper editorial or article, reporting on a student demonstration is also a primary source.
Deeds, wills, court documents, military records, tax records, census records, diaries, journals, letters, account books, advertisements, newspapers, photographs, and maps are primary sources.
Secondary sources are created by someone who was either not present when the event occurred or removed from it in time. We use secondary sources for overview information, and to help familiarize ourselves with a topic and compare that topic with other events in history.
History books, encyclopedias, historical dictionaries, and academic articles are secondary sources.
If you've never written a research paper using primary sources, it is important to understand that the process is different from using only secondary sources. Many students discover that finding and gaining access to primary source documents can be difficult. The Library website has a valuable guide to locating primary source documents. Follow the link below to be redirected to that guide:
https://libguides.furman.edu/resources/primary-sources
After locating appropriate primary sources, it is necessary for students to analyze and interpret them. To many students, this task can seem arduous, if not overwhelming. There are many resources available in the library as well as online, which are helpful. The National Archives website has very useful analysis worksheets that can help students to determine the significance of primary source documents. Links to PDF files of these worksheets are listed below:
Written Document | Artifact | Cartoon | Map | Motion Picture | Photograph | Poster | Sound Recording
Need Help? Ask a Librarian for help finding primary sources in the library.
Librarians are available from 9am to 12am most days to help you with your research. You can reach us in person, via chat, phone, or email.
Primary sources are those created contemporaneously to whatever period a researcher is studying. In contrast to secondary sources, they don't provide any analysis on a given topic after the fact; instead, they reflect on information or events as they unfolded (for example, a newspaper article, from the time of a particular historical event, discussing the historical event as it happened). Primary sources are especially useful for researchers because they reveal how certain topics and ideas were understood during a specific time and place. The particular primary sources you might use in your research, as well as how you find them, can vary a lot based on your field of study. This guide aims to provide helpful information on where to go about searching for primary sources, both at Duke and beyond.
This guide is meant to cover primary sources in a generalized way. Duke Libraries also has a collection of guides that go over primary sources based on location. Check these out if you're looking for primary sources related to a particular history or place! Keep in mind, too, that many of our subject guides also provide some information about accessing primary sources related to specific subjects.
Location-Specific Primary Source Guides at Duke:
Created in 2021 by Anna Twiddy and Kaylee Alexander.
Educator Resources
Finding primary sources.
Primary Sources from DocsTeach Thousands of online primary source documents from the National Archives to bring the past to life as classroom teaching tools.
National Archives Catalog Find online primary source materials for classroom & student projects from the National Archive's online catalog (OPA).
Beginning Research Activities Student activities designed to help you navigate the National Archives resources and web site.
Online Exhibits Exhibits featuring online documents, photos and primary sources from the National Archives
Our Documents 100 Milestone Documents of American History
Getting Started with Research How to start researching records at the National Archives. Finding your topic, identifying records, planning a visit, and more.
Online Research Tools & Aids Introduction to catalogs, databases, and other online resources.
Citing Primary Sources Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States
Reference management. Clean and simple.
Why do i need to use both primary and secondary sources in my research, examples of primary and secondary sources, frequently asked questions about primary and secondary sources, related articles.
Primary and secondary sources are the two main types of source materials that you will use for your research project. They are both important and needed for your project. Whether you are going to use more primary or more secondary sources depends on your academic level - undergrad, postgrad, or professional.
Both types of sources have importance and merits of their own, but they are also immensely different. This guide will help you understand the differences. If you want to learn even more about both source types separately, where and how you can access them, and when and how to use them, check out the links below:
➡️ What is a primary source?
➡️ What is a secondary source?
The main difference between primary and secondary sources is that primary sources are contemporary.
Primary sources are original and originated from the event they refer to. They are not reviews, analyses, or critiques of events that occurred in the past. They are first-hand information.
Secondary sources are summaries, critiques, opinions, and analyses. They are written by people who did not witness, or have any direct part to play in the event they are describing. The information they contain is based on primary sources and is the author’s interpretation of the event/subject they are covering.
Using both types of sources adds to the merit of your research. By including references to secondary sources , you are showing that you have truly engaged with your research topic. You are providing extra information and displaying a well-rounded approach to your topic. You are not relying solely on the work of one person, or one institution, for your analysis to be based upon. You are reading broadly and contextually.
Likewise, including primary source references in your research shows that you are also going back to the roots. You are looking at the event or object as it happened, without being able to teleport through time and space. A primary source is vital because it will enable you to make your own judgement on an event or object. Secondary sources are always biased, in one sense or another, so engaging with the primary source yourself allows you to view the topic objectively.
Primary and secondary sources complement each other - looking at both can give you a deeper understanding of each. A primary source can help you to evaluate a secondary source - you will notice aspects of it which the author dismisses, or washes over in their discussion. Likewise, a secondary source can tell you about current trends in research and analysis, while providing you with a broad overview or summary of an extended period of time, or the works of an artist.
We have put together a list of examples of primary and secondary sources by fields of study. It will help you identify the nature of your source.
Type | Arts/Humanities | Sciences |
---|---|---|
Primary sources | Poems, diaries, letters, paintings, government records, maps, interviews (transcribed or recorded), photographs, newspaper articles | Results of experiments, case studies, results of clinical trials, minutes of meetings, proceedings of conferences |
Secondary sources | Biographies, Histories, Reviews, Encyclopaedias, Literary criticism | Discussion of importance, analysis of clinical trial, review of results |
Primary sources are original and originated from the event they refer to. They are not reviews, analyses, or critiques of events that occurred in the past. They are first-hand information. For a more detailed description of what a primary source is, where you can access them, and why you need to use them, see this article about primary sources .
Secondary sources are summaries, critiques, opinions, and analyses. They are written by people who did not witness, or have any direct part to play in the event they are describing. The information they contain is based on primary sources, and is the author’s interpretation of the event/subject they are covering. See this article about secondary sources for further information.
Some examples of primary sources are: Poems, diaries, letters, paintings, government records, maps, interviews (transcribed or recorded), photographs, newspaper articles, results of experiments, case studies, results of clinical trials, minutes of meetings, and proceedings of conferences
Some examples of secondary sources are: Biographies, histories, reviews, encyclopaedias, literary criticism, discussions of importance, analysis of clinical trials, and reviews of results.
The one main difference between primary and secondary sources is that primary sources are contemporary and secondary sources are not.
About this tutorial.
Doing research in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota is more than just finding an old document. You will need some skills to effectively investigate and explore everything you find.
After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:
Primary sources are the “raw material” of history
Primary sources are created in the past and have historical research value
Primary sources help you understand past events from a firsthand or insider perspective
Primary sources aren’t just old books, letters, or diaries. They include the full range of human communication and expression, from cuneiform tablets to posters to PDF files.
For any assignment, it is important to use your instructor's definition of primary sources.
Their formats may be unfamiliar. For example, what is a telegram?
Their language and imagery may be different or even offensive
Next, learn about a process called Research, Review, Reflect, and Record to help with your research.
Tips for finding primary sources, books in milne library's reference collection, databases available through milne library, websites for primary sources.
Primary sources are documents or objects that provide direct, first-hand evidence. A secondary source analyzes, discusses, summarizes, and comments upon primary sources. Secondary sources are one step removed from the original, primary source.
Disciplines define primary sources differently. To the scientist, they might be reports of original research or personal papers; to the journalist, they might be interviews or letters.
In Philosophy, examples of primary sources can include:
( Primary Sources - Philosophy - Subject Guides at University of Alberta Libraries (ualberta.ca) available under a Creative Commons — Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 )
Examples of secondary sources include:
Primary sources may be available in print, in library databases, on websites, or in microform collections. Print primary sources, or print reproductions of primary sources, are sometimes available in archives and libraries. In addition, primary sources are increasingly found online in digitized form. These may be found in library databases or on websites. Primary sources are also available in m icroform, a format that has been used for many years to preserve documents, as well as to save storage space.
Tips for finding primary sources:
When searching print and online access tools use search terms such as SOURCES , CORRESPONDENCE , PERSONAL NARRATIVES , DIARIES , RECORDS AND CORRESPONDENCE , SERMONS , SPEECHES , PAPERS , LETTERS.
Look for titles of primary sources in secondary sources and in lists included in bibliographies of secondary sources. Use text, class, and library bibliographies for recommended titles or listings of primary sources.
Browse library shelves around other relevant books. This is often a wonderful way to discover collections of primary sources that have been published in a book format.
On this guide you will find a partial listing of primary source materials available in Milne Library. This includes a listing of reference books , databases , websites , and microform collections containing primary source materials. Remember, this is only a partial listing. More primary sources can be found through searching print and online access tools and browsing the library shelves in relevant areas.
Below is a partial listing of books in Milne Library’s Reference Collection that may be helpful for primary source research. Some titles only list sources, whereas others include the text of sources. Note the call number below each title. These items cannot be checked out. However, students can request free photocopy of pages in print reference sources at the Research Help Desk . Staff members will attempt to make copies at the time of the request, but students should generally expect to pick up photocopies one or two days after the request has been submitted. A scanner is also available in the reference area for copying information. Assistance is available at the Research Help Desk.
Below are some databases that may be helpful for primary source research. Some databases only list sources, whereas others include the full text of sources. All of the following databases are listed on the library website alphabetically by title under the Databases tab .
Analyze the history of Latin America and the Caribbean from the sixteenth through twentieth century through primary source documents.
Primary sources are increasingly found online in digitized form. Listed below are some websites that contain primary source materials. Consult your instructor on whether you are allowed to use primary source materials available via websites.
As indicated on a previous page, Peer-Reviewed Journals also include non -primary content. Simply limiting your search results in a database to "peer-reviewed" will not retrieve a list of only primary research studies.
Learn to recognize the parts of a primary research study. Terminology will vary slightly from discipline to discipline and from journal to journal. However, there are common components to most research studies.
When you run a search, find a promising article in your results list and then look at the record for that item (usually by clicking on the title). The full database record for an item usually includes an abstract or summary--sometimes prepared by the journal or database, but often written by the author(s) themselves. This will usually give a clear indication of whether the article is a primary study. For example, here is a full database record from a search for family violence and support in SocINDEX with Full Text :
Although the abstract often tells the story, you will need to read the article to know for sure. Besides scanning the Abstract or Summary, look for the following components: (I am only capturing small article segments for illustration.)
Look for the words METHOD or METHODOLOGY . The authors should explain how they conducted their research.
NOTE: Different Journals and Disciplines will use different terms to mean similar things. If instead of " Method " or " Methodology " you see a heading that says " Research Design " or " Data Collection ," you have a similar indicator that the scholar-authors have done original research.
Look for the section called RESULTS . This details what the author(s) found out after conducting their research.
Charts , Tables , Graphs , Maps and other displays help to summarize and present the findings of the research.
A Discussion indicates the significance of findings, acknowledges limitations of the research study, and suggests further research.
References , a Bibliography or List of Works Cited indicates a literature review and shows other studies and works that were consulted. USE THIS PART OF THE STUDY! If you find one or two good recent studies, you can identify some important earlier studies simply by going through the bibliographies of those articles.
A FINAL NOTE: If you are ever unclear about whether a particular article is appropriate to use in your paper, it is best to show that article to your professor and discuss it with them. The professor is the final judge since they will be assigning your grade.
Click here to download a .pdf copy of our Beginner’s Guide to Research !
Last updated : July 18, 2024
Consider keeping a printed copy to have when writing and revising your resume! If you have any additional questions, make an appointment or email us at [email protected] !
Most professors will require the use of academic (AKA peer-reviewed) sources for student writing. This is because these sources, written for academic audiences of specific fields, are helpful for developing your argument on many topics of interest in the academic realm, from history to biology. While popular sources like news articles also often discuss topics of interest within academic fields, peer-reviewed sources offer a depth of research and expertise that you cannot find in popular sources. Therefore, knowing how to (1) identify popular vs. academic sources, (2) differentiate between primary and secondary sources, and (3) find academic sources is a vital step in writing research. Below are definitions of the two ways scholars categorize types of sources based on when they were created (i.e. time and place) and how (i.e. methodology):
Finding appropriate academic sources from the hundreds of different journal publications can be daunting. Therefore, it is important to find databases –digital collections of articles–relevant to your topic to narrow your search. Albertson’s Library has access to several different databases, which can be located by clicking the “Articles and Databases” tab on the website’s homepage, and navigating to “Databases A-Z” to refine your search. Popular databases include: Academic Search Premier and Proquest Central (non-specific databases which include a wide variety of articles), JSTOR (humanities and social sciences, from literature to history), Web of Science (formal sciences and natural sciences such as biology and chemistry), and Google Scholar (a web search engine that searches scholarly literature and academic sources). If you are unable to access articles from other databases, make sure you’re signed in to Alberton’s Library through Boise State!
Databases include many different types of sources besides academic journals, however, including book reviews and other periodicals. Using the search bar , you can limit search results to those containing specific keywords or phrases like “writing center” or “transfer theory.” Utilizing keywords in your search–names of key concepts, authors, or ideas–rather than questions is the most effective way to find articles in databases. When searching for a specific work by title, placing the title in quotation marks will ensure your search includes only results in that specific word order. In the example below, search terms including the author (“Virginia Woolf”) and subject (“feminism”) are entered into the popular database EBSCOhost:
Many databases have a bar on the left of the screen where you can further refine your results. For example, if you are only interested in finding complete scholarly articles, or peer-reviewed ones, you can toggle these different options to further limit your search. These options are located under the “Refine Results” bar in EBSCOhost, divided into different sections, with a display of currently selected search filters and filter options to refine your search based on your specific needs, as seen in the figure below:
Search results can also be limited by subject : If you search “Romeo and Juliet” on Academic Search Premier to find literary analysis articles for your English class, you’ll find a lot of other sources that include this search term, such as ones about theater production or ballets based on Shakespeare’s play. However, if you’re writing a literary paper on the text of the play itself, you might limit your search results to “fiction” to see only articles that discuss the play within the field of literature. Alternatively, for a theater class discussing the play, you might limit your search results to “drama.”
Table of Contents
Before conducting a study, a research proposal should be created that outlines researchers’ plans and methodology and is submitted to the concerned evaluating organization or person. Creating a research proposal is an important step to ensure that researchers are on track and are moving forward as intended. A research proposal can be defined as a detailed plan or blueprint for the proposed research that you intend to undertake. It provides readers with a snapshot of your project by describing what you will investigate, why it is needed, and how you will conduct the research.
Your research proposal should aim to explain to the readers why your research is relevant and original, that you understand the context and current scenario in the field, have the appropriate resources to conduct the research, and that the research is feasible given the usual constraints.
This article will describe in detail the purpose and typical structure of a research proposal , along with examples and templates to help you ace this step in your research journey.
A research proposal¹ ,² can be defined as a formal report that describes your proposed research, its objectives, methodology, implications, and other important details. Research proposals are the framework of your research and are used to obtain approvals or grants to conduct the study from various committees or organizations. Consequently, research proposals should convince readers of your study’s credibility, accuracy, achievability, practicality, and reproducibility.
With research proposals , researchers usually aim to persuade the readers, funding agencies, educational institutions, and supervisors to approve the proposal. To achieve this, the report should be well structured with the objectives written in clear, understandable language devoid of jargon. A well-organized research proposal conveys to the readers or evaluators that the writer has thought out the research plan meticulously and has the resources to ensure timely completion.
A research proposal is a sales pitch and therefore should be detailed enough to convince your readers, who could be supervisors, ethics committees, universities, etc., that what you’re proposing has merit and is feasible . Research proposals can help students discuss their dissertation with their faculty or fulfill course requirements and also help researchers obtain funding. A well-structured proposal instills confidence among readers about your ability to conduct and complete the study as proposed.
Research proposals can be written for several reasons:³
Research proposals should aim to answer the three basic questions—what, why, and how.
The What question should be answered by describing the specific subject being researched. It should typically include the objectives, the cohort details, and the location or setting.
The Why question should be answered by describing the existing scenario of the subject, listing unanswered questions, identifying gaps in the existing research, and describing how your study can address these gaps, along with the implications and significance.
The How question should be answered by describing the proposed research methodology, data analysis tools expected to be used, and other details to describe your proposed methodology.
Here is a research proposal sample template (with examples) from the University of Rochester Medical Center. 4 The sections in all research proposals are essentially the same although different terminology and other specific sections may be used depending on the subject.
If you want to know how to make a research proposal impactful, include the following components:¹
1. Introduction
This section provides a background of the study, including the research topic, what is already known about it and the gaps, and the significance of the proposed research.
2. Literature review
This section contains descriptions of all the previous relevant studies pertaining to the research topic. Every study cited should be described in a few sentences, starting with the general studies to the more specific ones. This section builds on the understanding gained by readers in the Introduction section and supports it by citing relevant prior literature, indicating to readers that you have thoroughly researched your subject.
3. Objectives
Once the background and gaps in the research topic have been established, authors must now state the aims of the research clearly. Hypotheses should be mentioned here. This section further helps readers understand what your study’s specific goals are.
4. Research design and methodology
Here, authors should clearly describe the methods they intend to use to achieve their proposed objectives. Important components of this section include the population and sample size, data collection and analysis methods and duration, statistical analysis software, measures to avoid bias (randomization, blinding), etc.
5. Ethical considerations
This refers to the protection of participants’ rights, such as the right to privacy, right to confidentiality, etc. Researchers need to obtain informed consent and institutional review approval by the required authorities and mention this clearly for transparency.
6. Budget/funding
Researchers should prepare their budget and include all expected expenditures. An additional allowance for contingencies such as delays should also be factored in.
7. Appendices
This section typically includes information that supports the research proposal and may include informed consent forms, questionnaires, participant information, measurement tools, etc.
8. Citations
Writing a research proposal begins much before the actual task of writing. Planning the research proposal structure and content is an important stage, which if done efficiently, can help you seamlessly transition into the writing stage. 3,5
Key Takeaways
Here’s a summary of the main points about research proposals discussed in the previous sections:
Q1. How is a research proposal evaluated?
A1. In general, most evaluators, including universities, broadly use the following criteria to evaluate research proposals . 6
Q2. What is the difference between the Introduction and Literature Review sections in a research proposal ?
A2. The Introduction or Background section in a research proposal sets the context of the study by describing the current scenario of the subject and identifying the gaps and need for the research. A Literature Review, on the other hand, provides references to all prior relevant literature to help corroborate the gaps identified and the research need.
Q3. How long should a research proposal be?
A3. Research proposal lengths vary with the evaluating authority like universities or committees and also the subject. Here’s a table that lists the typical research proposal lengths for a few universities.
Arts programs | 1,000-1,500 | |
University of Birmingham | Law School programs | 2,500 |
PhD | 2,500 | |
2,000 | ||
Research degrees | 2,000-3,500 |
Q4. What are the common mistakes to avoid in a research proposal ?
A4. Here are a few common mistakes that you must avoid while writing a research proposal . 7
Thus, a research proposal is an essential document that can help you promote your research and secure funds and grants for conducting your research. Consequently, it should be well written in clear language and include all essential details to convince the evaluators of your ability to conduct the research as proposed.
This article has described all the important components of a research proposal and has also provided tips to improve your writing style. We hope all these tips will help you write a well-structured research proposal to ensure receipt of grants or any other purpose.
References
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New research from the Data Provenance Initiative has found a dramatic drop in content made available to the collections used to build artificial intelligence.
By Kevin Roose
Reporting from San Francisco
For years, the people building powerful artificial intelligence systems have used enormous troves of text, images and videos pulled from the internet to train their models.
Now, that data is drying up.
Over the past year, many of the most important web sources used for training A.I. models have restricted the use of their data, according to a study published this week by the Data Provenance Initiative, an M.I.T.-led research group.
The study , which looked at 14,000 web domains that are included in three commonly used A.I. training data sets, discovered an “emerging crisis in consent,” as publishers and online platforms have taken steps to prevent their data from being harvested.
The researchers estimate that in the three data sets — called C4, RefinedWeb and Dolma — 5 percent of all data, and 25 percent of data from the highest-quality sources, has been restricted. Those restrictions are set up through the Robots Exclusion Protocol, a decades-old method for website owners to prevent automated bots from crawling their pages using a file called robots.txt.
The study also found that as much as 45 percent of the data in one set, C4, had been restricted by websites’ terms of service.
“We’re seeing a rapid decline in consent to use data across the web that will have ramifications not just for A.I. companies, but for researchers, academics and noncommercial entities,” said Shayne Longpre, the study’s lead author, in an interview.
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Akinbode Adedeji , an associate professor at the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) at University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton CAFE, and two fellow researchers have been awarded the prestigious Tanner Award for their seminal review paper on plant protein modification. This accolade is granted to the authors of the most cited paper by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in a particular year, reflecting the significant impact and contribution to the field of food science.
The award-winning paper titled “Modification of Plant Proteins for Improved Functionality: A Review” has garnered widespread recognition since its publication in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety in 2021. It has been cited over 300 times, making it the most cited paper across all IFT journals that year. The work was co-authored by Adedeji along with then-UK doctoral student Felix Akharume and Rotimi Aluko from the University of Manitoba.
What plant protein modification means for researchers?
The review profiles various methods used to modify plant proteins, emphasizing physical, chemical and biochemical approaches. Adedeji said the work stood out for its comprehensive evaluation of techniques to enhance the quality and functional properties of plant proteins. This included improving solubility, emulsification, gelation and foaming properties, which are crucial for developing high-quality plant-based food products.
“Our goal was to develop a key understanding of the proteins from plant sources, focusing on their quality and functional properties,” Adedeji said. “We profiled fundamental methods for plant protein modification, which has made our paper a valuable resource for researchers globally.”
The research was particularly timely, coinciding with the surge in demand for plant-based proteins driven by sustainability concerns and dietary shifts.
“When we started this project in 2016, it was the onset of the plant-based protein rush,” Adedeji said. “By the time our paper was published, the food industry was actively seeking alternative protein sources. This alignment significantly contributed to the paper's high citation rate.”
Adedeji remains optimistic about the future of plant-based proteins, despite acknowledging challenges such as replicating the sensory attributes of animal proteins and addressing the issue of ultra-processed foods.
“The demand for sustainable protein sources ensures that plant-based proteins will remain integral to the future of food,” he said
BAE is a partnership between Martin-Gatton CAFE and the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering . To learn more, visit https://www.engr.uky.edu/research-faculty/departments/biosystems-agricultural-engineering .
This material is based upon work that is supported by the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station (KAES), National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Hatch Multistate Program under award number NC1023. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Department of Agriculture.
Words: Jordan Strickler (Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment) Photo: Matt Barton (Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment)
A new research paper has examined all 29,078 US stocks that have existed since 1926 and identified the top 10 performers of all time.
These stocks, some of them household names, have generated enormous wealth for those who purchased even just one share of the company and held on to it for nearly 100 years.
Of course, identifying the 10 best-performing stocks for the next 100 years is nearly impossible, as the paper's author points out.
"The majority (51.6%) of these stocks had negative cumulative returns," finance professor Hendrik Bessembinder of Arizona State University wrote.
But with a healthy dose of luck, $1 invested in 1926 would have been worth $2.67 million at the end of 2023, assuming it was invested in the right company.
Bessembinder also observed that the 10 best-performing stocks delivered consistently modest annualized gains, reinforcing the slow and steady mantra championed by long-term investors.
"Annualized compound returns to these top performers relatively were modest, averaging 13.47% across the top seventeen stocks, thereby affirming the importance of 'time in the market," Bessembinder wrote.
From soda to cigarettes to computers and airplanes, these are the 10 top-performing US stocks since 1926, according to the paper, which assumed that dividends were reinvested.
Ticker: PEP Return of $1 invested : $86,360 Investment date: December 31, 1925 - December 29, 2023
Ticker: KO Return of $1 invested : $123,724 Investment date: December 31, 1925 - December 29, 2023
Ticker: SPGI Return of $1 invested : $128,787 Investment date: February 14, 1929 - December 29, 2023
Ticker: ETN Return of $1 invested : $151,173 Investment date: December 31, 1925 - December 29, 2023
Ticker: IBM Return of $1 invested : $175,437 Investment date: December 31, 1925- December 29, 2023 5. Boeing
Ticker: BA Return of $1 invested : $212,206 Investment date: September 5, 1934 - December 29, 2023
Ticker: GD Return of $1 invested : $220,850 Investment date: January 28, 1926 - December 29, 2023
Ticker: Delisted after 2021 acquisition by Canadian Pacific Return of $1 invested : $361,757 Investment date: December 31, 1925 - December 13, 2021
Ticker: VMC Return of $1 invested : $393,492 Investment date: December 31, 1925- December 29, 2023
Ticker: MO Return of $1 invested : $2,655,290 Investment date: December 31, 1925 - December 29, 2023
A new study finds disturbing and pervasive errors among three popular models on a wide range of legal tasks.
Pitiphothivichit/iStock
In May of last year, a Manhattan lawyer became famous for all the wrong reasons. He submitted a legal brief generated largely by ChatGPT. And the judge did not take kindly to the submission. Describing “an unprecedented circumstance,” the judge noted that the brief was littered with “bogus judicial decisions . . . bogus quotes and bogus internal citations.” The story of the “ChatGPT lawyer” went viral as a New York Times story, sparking none other than Chief Justice John Roberts to lament the role of “hallucinations” of large language models (LLMs) in his annual report on the federal judiciary.
Yet how prevalent are such legal hallucinations, really?
The legal industry is on the cusp of a major transformation, driven by the emergence of LLMs like ChatGPT, PaLM, Claude, and Llama. These advanced models, equipped with billions of parameters, have the ability not only to process but also to generate extensive, authoritative text on a wide range of topics. Their influence is becoming more evident across various aspects of daily life, including their growing use in legal practices.
A dizzying number of legal technology startups and law firms are now advertising and leveraging LLM-based tools for a variety of tasks, such as sifting through discovery documents to find relevant evidence, crafting detailed legal memoranda and case briefs, and formulating complex litigation strategies. LLM developers proudly claim that their models can pass the bar exam. But a core problem remains: hallucinations, or the tendency of LLMs to produce content that deviates from actual legal facts or well-established legal principles and precedents.
Until now, the evidence was largely anecdotal as to the extent of legal hallucinations. Yet the legal system also provides a unique window to systematically study the extent and nature of such hallucinations.
In a new preprint study by Stanford RegLab and Institute for Human-Centered AI researchers, we demonstrate that legal hallucinations are pervasive and disturbing: hallucination rates range from 69% to 88% in response to specific legal queries for state-of-the-art language models. Moreover, these models often lack self-awareness about their errors and tend to reinforce incorrect legal assumptions and beliefs. These findings raise significant concerns about the reliability of LLMs in legal contexts, underscoring the importance of careful, supervised integration of these AI technologies into legal practice.
Hallucination rates are alarmingly high for a wide range of verifiable legal facts. Yet the unique structure of the U.S. legal system – with its clear delineations of hierarchy and authority – allowed us to also understand how hallucination rates vary along key dimensions. We designed our study by constructing a number of different tasks, ranging from asking models simple things like the author of an opinion to more complex requests like whether two cases are in tension with one another, a key element of legal reasoning. We tested more than 200,000 queries against each of GPT 3.5, Llama 2, and PaLM 2, stratifying along key dimensions.
First, we found that performance deteriorates when dealing with more complex tasks that require a nuanced understanding of legal issues or interpretation of legal texts. For instance, in a task measuring the precedential relationship between two different cases, most LLMs do no better than random guessing. And in answering queries about a court’s core ruling (or holding), models hallucinate at least 75% of the time. These findings suggest that LLMs are not yet able to perform the kind of legal reasoning that attorneys perform when they assess the precedential relationship between cases—a core objective of legal research.
Second, case law from lower courts, like district courts, is subject to more frequent hallucinations than case law from higher courts like the Supreme Court. This suggests that LLMs may struggle with localized legal knowledge that is often crucial in lower court cases, and calls into doubt claims that LLMs will reduce longstanding access to justice barriers in the United States.
Third, LLMs show a tendency to perform better with more prominent cases, particularly those in the Supreme Court. Similarly, performance is best in the influential Second and Ninth Circuits, but worst in circuit courts located in the geographic center of the country. These performance differences could be due to certain cases being more frequently cited and discussed, thus being better represented in the training data of these models.
Fourth, hallucinations are most common among the Supreme Court’s oldest and newest cases, and least common among later 20th century cases. This suggests that LLMs’ peak performance may lag several years behind current legal doctrine, and that LLMs may fail to internalize case law that is very old but still applicable and relevant law.
Last, different models exhibit varying degrees of accuracy and biases. For example, GPT 3.5 generally outperforms others but shows certain inclinations, like favoring well-known justices or specific types of cases. When asked who authored an opinion, for instance, GPT 3.5 tends to think Justice Joseph Story wrote far more opinions than he actually did.
Another critical danger that we unearth is model susceptibility to what we call “contra-factual bias,” namely the tendency to assume that a factual premise in a query is true, even if it is flatly wrong. For instance, if one queried, “Why did Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissent in Obergefell ?” (the case that affirmed a right to same-sex marriage), a model might fail to second-guess whether Justice Ginsburg in fact dissented.
This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in language models like GPT 3.5, which often provide credible responses to queries based on false premises, likely due to its instruction-following training. This tendency escalates in complex legal scenarios or when dealing with lower court cases. Llama 2, on the other hand, frequently rejects false premises, but sometimes mistakenly denies the existence of actual cases or justices.
Relatedly, we also show that models are imperfectly calibrated for legal questions. Model calibration captures whether model confidence is correlated with the correctness of answers. We find some divergence across models: PaLM 2 and ChatGPT (GPT 3.5) show better calibration than Llama 2. Yet, a common thread across all models is a tendency towards overconfidence, irrespective of their actual accuracy. This overconfidence is particularly evident in complex tasks and those pertaining to lower courts, where models often overstate their certainty, especially in well-known or high-profile legal areas.
The implications of these findings are serious. Today, there is much excitement that LLMs will democratize access to justice by providing an easy and low-cost way for members of the public to obtain legal advice. But our findings suggest that the current limitations of LLMs pose a risk of further deepening existing legal inequalities, rather than alleviating them.
Ideally, LLMs would excel at providing localized legal information, effectively correct users on misguided queries, and qualify their responses with appropriate levels of confidence. However, we find that these capabilities are conspicuously lacking in current models. Thus, the risks of using LLMs for legal research are especially high for:
In essence, the users who would benefit the most from legal LLM are precisely those who the LLMs are least well-equipped to serve.
There is also a looming risk of LLMs contributing to legal “ monoculture .” Because LLMs tend to limit users to a narrow judicial perspective, they potentially overlook broader nuances and diversity of legal interpretations. This is substantively alarming, but there is also a version of representational harm: LLMs may systematically erase the contributions of one member of the legal community, such as Justice Ginsburg, by misattributing them to another, such as Justice Story.
Much active technical work is ongoing to address hallucinations in LLMs. Yet addressing legal hallucinations is not merely a technical problem. We suggest that LLMs face fundamental trade-offs in balancing fidelity to training data, accuracy in responding to user prompts, and adherence to real-world legal facts. Thus, minimizing hallucinations ultimately requires normative judgments about which type of behavior is most important, and transparency in these balancing decisions is critical.
While LLMs hold significant potential for legal practice, the limitations we document in our work warrant significant caution. Responsible integration of AI in legal practice will require more iteration, supervision, and human understanding of AI capabilities and limitations.
In that respect, our findings underscore the centrality of human-centered AI. Responsible AI integration must augment lawyers, clients, and judges and not, as Chief Justice Roberts put it, risk “dehumanizing the law.”
Matthew Dahl is a J.D./Ph.D. student at Yale University and graduate student affiliate of Stanford RegLab.
Varun Magesh is a research fellow at Stanford RegLab.
Mirac Suzgun is a J.D/Ph.D. student in computer science at Stanford University and a graduate student fellow at Stanford RegLab.
Daniel E. Ho is the William Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law, Professor of Political Science, Professor of Computer Science (by courtesy), Senior Fellow at HAI, Senior Fellow at SIEPR, and Director of the RegLab at Stanford University.
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Primary Source Terms:. You can limit HOLLIS searches to your time period, but sources may be published later, such as a person's diary published posthumously. Find these with these special Subject terms. You can use the following terms to search HOLLIS for primary sources:. Archives; Correspondence
Sproull then goes on to remind readers that primary sources are not always more reliable than secondary sources. "Data from human sources are subject to many types of distortion because of such factors as selective recall, selective perceptions, and purposeful or nonpurposeful omission or addition of information.
What is a secondary source? A secondary source is anything that describes, interprets, evaluates, or analyzes information from primary sources. Common examples include: Books, articles and documentaries that synthesize information on a topic; Synopses and descriptions of artistic works; Encyclopedias and textbooks that summarize information and ideas; Reviews and essays that evaluate or ...
A primary source is an original object or document created during the time under study. Primary sources vary by discipline and can include historical and legal documents, diaries, letters, family records, speeches, interviews, autobiographies, film, government documents, eye witness accounts, results of an experiment, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, and art objects.
Primary sources. A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of art. Primary sources include historical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results of experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, audio and video recordings, speeches, and art objects.
Primary Source. A primary source is an eyewitness account of an event or data obtained through original statistical or scientific research. What are some examples of primary sources?
Access World News provides the html full text and, for some titles, the pdf "as printed" visual representation, of articles from a variety of national and international news sources, including newspapers, digital-native news websites, television and radio transcripts, blogs, college and university newspapers, journals, magazines, and some audio and video.
The definition of a primary source varies depending upon the academic discipline and the context in which it is used. 1. In the humanities, a primary source could be defined as something that was created either during the time period being studied or afterward by individuals reflecting on their involvement in the events of that time.. Examples from the humanities:
Different academic disciplines have different definitions of what constitutes a primary source: In the Humanities (history, literature, religion), primary sources focus on original documents or accounts contemporary to a specific event or an individual's life. Terms such as "eyewitness" or "firsthand" are also commonly used to describe these sources.
A primary source is a first-hand account from a person or organization who:. Created an original work; Participated in new scientific discoveries; Witnessed an event; Some examples of primary sources include:. Art and artifacts; Autobiographies, diaries, and memoirs
This is introductory description of what can be considered a primary source for the purposes of a research paper. Students and faculty have access to a wide range of primary source databases.
Primary sources are original documents or artifacts. They were created at the time period you are studying and can be used as evidence. Primary sources are contemporary resources, created by someone who witnessed a historical event, lived in the time under study, or created art or objects which are studied.
Primary Sources Primary sources are the "materials on a topic upon which subsequent interpretations or studies are based, anything from firsthand documents such as poems, diaries, court records, and interviews to research results generated by experiments, surveys, ethnographies, and so on."*
Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories.Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources, which are produced some time after an event, and serve to analyze or interpret primary sources.
Primary research involves collecting data about a given subject directly from the real world. This section includes information on what primary research is, how to get started, ethics involved with primary research and different types of research you can do. It includes details about interviews, surveys, observations, and analyses.
Finding Primary Sources. The Library of Congress makes millions of unique primary sources available online to everyone, everywhere. There are a few different ways to discover the best primary sources for you.
A student activist during the war writing about protest activities has created a memoir. This would be a primary source because the information is based on her own involvement in the events she describes.
Primary sources are those created contemporaneously to whatever period a researcher is studying. In contrast to secondary sources, they don't provide any analysis on a given topic after the fact; instead, they reflect on information or events as they unfolded (for example, a newspaper article, from the time of a particular historical event, discussing the historical event as it happened).
Finding Primary Sources Primary Sources from DocsTeach Thousands of online primary source documents from the National Archives to bring the past to life as classroom teaching tools. National Archives Catalog Find online primary source materials for classroom & student projects from the National Archive's online catalog (OPA). Beginning Research Activities Student activities designed to help ...
Primary and secondary sources are the two main types of source materials that you will use for your research project. They are both important and needed for your project.
Lantern slide from a presentation showing YMCA Lifeguard training in Japan, ca. 1920's. Doing research in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota is more than just finding an old document.
Primary sources are documents or objects that provide direct, first-hand evidence.A secondary source analyzes, discusses, summarizes, and comments upon primary sources.Secondary sources are one step removed from the original, primary source. Disciplines define primary sources differently. To the scientist, they might be reports of original research or personal papers; to the journalist, they ...
As indicated on a previous page, Peer-Reviewed Journals also include non-primary content.Simply limiting your search results in a database to "peer-reviewed" will not retrieve a list of only primary research studies.
Most professors will require the use of academic (AKA peer-reviewed) sources for student writing. This is because these sources, written for academic audiences of specific fields, are helpful for developing your argument on many topics of interest in the academic realm, from history to biology ...
Before conducting a study, a research proposal should be created that outlines researchers' plans and methodology and is submitted to the concerned evaluating organization or person. Creating a research proposal is an important step to ensure that researchers are on track and are moving forward as intended. A research proposal can be defined as a detailed plan or blueprint for the proposed ...
Stella Biderman, the executive director of EleutherAI, a nonprofit A.I. research organization, echoed those fears. "Major tech companies already have all of the data," she said.
Akinbode Adedeji, an associate professor at the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) at University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton CAFE, and two fellow researchers have been awarded the prestigious Tanner Award for their seminal review paper on plant protein modification. This accolade is granted to the authors of the most cited paper by the Institute of Food Technologists ...
A new research paper has examined all 29,078 US stocks that have existed since 1926 and identified the top 10 performers of all time.. These stocks, some of them household names, have generated ...
There are still important disanalogies between our current empirical setup and the ultimate problem of aligning superhuman models. For example, it may be easier for future models to imitate weak human errors than for current strong models to imitate current weak model errors, which could make generalization harder in the future.
In May of last year, a Manhattan lawyer became famous for all the wrong reasons. He submitted a legal brief generated largely by ChatGPT. And the judge did not take kindly to the submission.