"What is a primary source? Primary sources are materials directly related to a topic by time or participation. These materials include letters, speeches, diaries, newspaper articles from the time, oral history interviews, documents, photographs, artifacts, or anything else that provides firsthand accounts about a person or event.
Some materials might be considered primary sources for one topic but not for another. For exmaple, a newspaper article about D-Day (which was June 6, 1944) written in June 1944 was likely written by a participant or eye witness and would be a primary source; an article about D-Day written in June 2001 probably was not written by an eyewitness or participant and would not be a primarey source."
- Primary Sources: What are They?, http://teachinghistory.org/best-practices/using-primary-sources/19079
"What are secondary sources? Secondary sources are works of synthesis and interpretation based upon primary sources and the work of other authors. They may take a variety of forms."
- Secondary Sources: What are They?, http://teachinghistory.org/best-practices/using-primary-sources/19080
Examples of secondary sources from the site above include: Journal Articles, Reference Books, History Textbooks, Popular Periodical Literature, and General Historical Works and Monographs.
Photographs:
Websites:
History Research Guide: http://guides.boisestate.edu/history
Idaho Research Guide: http://guides.boisestate.edu/idaho