Distinguish primary versus secondary sources with examples.

• A. Primary sources provide direct evidence (journal article, eyewitness video); secondary sources interpret or summarize (reviews, analyses).
• B. Primary sources are always biased; secondary sources are always neutral.
• C. Secondary sources provide direct evidence; primary sources interpret or summarize.
• D. Primary sources only refer to fictional works.

Answer: (A)

Primary sources are original, firsthand evidence from a time period or event, while secondary sources are analyses, interpretations, or summaries of that evidence. This distinction matters because it shows how directly the information relates to the original material. A primary source provides direct evidence—think of a journal article that reports new research results or an eyewitness video that records what happened. A secondary source, by contrast, interprets or synthesizes those original materials, such as reviews or analyses that discuss and evaluate the primary findings. That’s why the pairing in the option is correct: the primary side contains direct evidence, and the secondary side contains interpretation or summarization. It’s not accurate to claim primary sources are always biased or that they refer only to fictional works, since bias can appear in any source and fiction can also be a primary source in literary study.