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Milner Library

COM 110 - Communication as Critical Inquiry

This guide, developed specifically for students enrolled in COM 110 and COM 110.01, provides strategies and content for finding resources, introducing types of information, evaluating sources, and citing in APA.

Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Sources

Primary Sources

These are items or original works that are a firsthand record of a topic. What is considered a primary source differs across different disciplines. 

The following are a list of examples of primary sources in various disciplines:

  • Anthropology, Archaeology: Ethnographies, surveys, articles describing research, cultural and historical artifacts
  • Communications, Journalism: News (printed, radio, TV, online), photographs, blogs, social media sites
  • Education, Political Science, Public Policy: Government publications, laws, court cases, speeches, test results, interviews, polls, surveys
  • Fine Arts: Original art work, photographs, recordings of performances and music, scripts (film, theatre, television), music scores interviews, memoirs, diaries, letters, autobiographies
  • History: Government publications, newspapers, photographs, diaries, letters, manuscripts, business records, court cases, videos, polls, census data, speeches, autobiographies
  • Language and Literature: Novels (fiction), plays, short stories poems, autobiographies
  • Psychology, Sociology, Economics: Articles describing research results of experiments, ethnographies, interviews, surveys, data sets
  • Sciences: Articles describing research and methodologies, documentation of lab research, research studies

Content used with permission and adapted from Cubbage, Charlotte. 2017. “Primary Sources.” Primary Sources/Secondary Sources. September 13. http://libguides.northwestern.edu/c.php?g=98366&p=636900.

Secondary Sources

These are items that interpret, critique, or analyze information, content, or findings of primary sources about a specific topic. These items differ across various disciplines. 

The following are a list of examples of secondary sources in various disciplines:

  • Anthropology, Archaeology: Reviews of the literature, critical interpretations of scholarly studies
  • Communications, Journalism: Interpretive journal articles, books, and blogs about the communications industry
  • Education, Political Science, Public Policy: Reviews of the literature, critical interpretations of scholarly studies
  • Fine Arts: Critical interpretations of art and artists (all formats), biographies, reviews, textbooks
  • History: Interpretations in any format such as journal articles, books, multimedia, websites
  • Language and Literature: Literary criticism, biographies, reviews, textbooks, language manuals
  • Psychology, Sociology, Economics: Reviews of the literature, critical interpretations of scholarly studies
  • Sciences: Publications that review or discuss the significance of research or experiments

Content used with permission and adapted from Cubbage, Charlotte. 2017. “Primary Sources.” Primary Sources/Secondary Sources. September 13. http://libguides.northwestern.edu/c.php?g=98366&p=636900.

Tertiary Sources

These are items that compile information from secondary and primary sources to provide a broad overview of the representation of a topic or related topics. These items have the most commonality across disciplines. 

The following are a list of examples of tertiary sources in various disciplines:

  • Anthropology, Archaeology: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, handbooks
  • Communications, Journalism: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, handbooks
  • Education, Political Science, Public Policy: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, graphical representation of data (i.e. data visualization)
  • Fine Arts: Guides, dictionaries, bibliographies, discographies
  • History: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, indexes
  • Language and Literature: Bibliographies, compilations, indexes, dictionaries
  • Psychology, Sociology, Economics: Handbooks, manuals, encyclopedias, dictionaries
  • Sciences: Dictionaries, manuals, handbooks, bibliographies

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