Re:Confusion: Research is not Citation (Score 1)

The books you used in high school were ALL primary sources? Either you went to a VERY unusual high school, or you have a different definition of primary source than the one I know, since the vast majority of books are secondary sources (for most purposes), and the vast majority of primary sources are not books.

Of course, I just updated my understanding of the distinction between primary and secondary sources by checking....Wikipedia :-).

(Of course, Wikipedia DOES direct you to James Cook University's summary at http://www.library.jcu.edu.au/LibraryGuides/primsrcs.shtml :

• Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based
• They are usually the first formal appearance of results in the print or electronic literature (for example, the first publication of the results of scientific investigations is a primary source.)
• They present information in its original form, neither interpreted nor condensed nor evaluated by other writers.
• They are from the time period (for example, something written close to when what it is recording happened is likely to be a primary source.)
• Primary sources present original thinking, report on discoveries, or share new information.

Some examples of primary sources:

• scientific journal articles reporting experimental research results
• proceedings of Meetings, Conferences and Symposia.
• technical reports
• dissertations or theses (may also be secondary)
• patents
• sets of data, such as census statistics
• works of literature (such as poems and fiction)
• diaries
• autobiographies
• interviews, surveys and fieldwork
• letters and correspondence
• speeches
• newspaper articles (may also be secondary)
• government documents
• photographs and works of art
• original documents (such as birth certificate or trial transcripts)
• Internet communications on email, listservs, and newsgroups

)