What constitutes a primary, secondary, or tertiary source can vary from discipline to discipline. This grid illustrates this point at a glance.
Primary, secondary, or tertiary? You decide.
Use Google Scholar to find academic-quality information (articles, papers, reports) on the Web.
This chart presents source examples by discipline:
| DISCIPLINE | PRIMARY | SECONDARY | TERTIARY |
| Art/Architecture | A painting by Chagall A building by F.L. Wright |
Journal articles or books discussing either work |
An encyclopedia of artists or dictionary of architects |
| Chemistry/Biology | Pasteur's notebook | A book about his work | An encyclopedia of famous medical breakthroughs |
| Engineering | A device patent | The Engineering Village database | A machine's instructional manual |
| Humanities | Transcripts of Oval Office tape recordings | A website discussing Nixon's White House tapes | A dictionary of American presidents |
| Social Sciences | Freud's diary | A journal article discussing psychoanalysis | A psychology textbook |
| Performing Arts | The movie "The Silence of the Lambs" | A biography of co-star Jodie Foster | A review of the movie |
Example from the discipline of art:
