What is a primary source?

A primary source is defined as an original document or record that provides firsthand evidence about a topic or event. This includes materials such as diaries, speeches, letters, official records, photographs, and artifacts that were created during the time the event occurred.

These sources are crucial in research because they offer direct insight and perspective into the context surrounding an event, allowing researchers to interpret and understand the historical significance and impact of that event from those who experienced it directly. For instance, a diary kept by a soldier during a war offers unique personal insights and experiences that secondary sources, which interpret or analyze these events, cannot replicate.

In contrast, the other options refer to secondary sources or compilations of information. Summaries, literature reviews, and analyses of interpretations do not provide original data or firsthand accounts since they rely on or interpret the content found in primary sources.