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HIST 301: The Historian's Craft (Schechter, Fall 2023)

What is a Secondary Source?

A secondary source is a work written about, and usualy after, a historical event. This may include:

  • Academic articles
  • Books
  • Biographies
  • Magazine articles
  • Interviews years later

"Scholarly" and "Peer Reviewed" Sources

In Academe, we are especially interested in a specific type of secondary source: Peer Reviewed Publications.

But what's the difference between scholarly, peer reviewed, popular, or refereed?

Scholarly: A source written by an expert, but not subjected to the peer review process. 
Example: magazine articles (if written by expert), public presentations, reviews, opinion pieces.

Refereed: Academic work that has some level of vetting, usually by an editor or panel. 
Example: Conference papers, journal articles that are approved by an editor but not external reviewers.
NOTE: refereed is often used interchangeably with Peer Reviewed by databases, but it isn't always the same.

Popular: Written for a wide readership. May or may not be written by a subject expert.
Examples: newspaper or magazine, popular press books, websites.

Peer Reviewed: Academic books and articles written by a specialist, reviewed by other experts, and published by an academic press.
Examples: Articles in academic journals, some conference papers, books published  by university presses.

Types of Secondary Sources

Why do we use books sometimes instead of articles? What is the difference between a chapter and an article, since they're about the same length? Why isn't an encyclopedia article considered a peer reviewed article, and why isn't an encyclopedia the same as a book?  

Each format has a different function, different scope, different purpose.  Know this helps you know where to start your search.

Every type of scholarly source has a specific purpose and scope, and knowing what each publication is meant to do will help you know where to start. The general types are:

  • Reference Books: Broad overviews of a very large topic. 
  • Research Books: (monographs): Argumentative study of a reasonably large topic
  • Book Chapter: Narrow focus on a specific topic, but within the context of a larger topic/book. Can be both summary & argument)
  • Article: Narrow focus, very argumentative. Extremely specific. Not good for general information -- you need to know background info already.
  • Book Review: a brief summary of a book. Not a peer reviewed source
  • Dissertation: You shouldn't be using these in this class. A dissertation is an Extremely focused, book-level study of a very specific topic.  These are not peer reviewed & not really considered "published."