History Day Sources!

A variety of sources are essential to a top notch History Day project...  But just what is considered a source?  What is a primary source?  What about secondary? What is meant by a variety?

A Guide to Historical Research Through the National History Day Program defines a source as:

Any provider of information used to interpret a topic. 

Examples of sources can include, but are not limited to:

• Written documents (diaries, letters, books, articles, certificates, journals)
• Artifacts (Physical remains, maps, photographs, art, tools, furniture, other objects from everyday life that have historical significance).
• Recordings (Video, film, audio recordings)
• Personal interviews (In-person discussions, discussions over the phone, or via email)

The guide defines primary and secondary sources this way:

Primary Source - A piece of information about a historical event or period in which the creator of the source was an actual participant in or a contemporary of a historical moment.  A primary source can be a written document created by someone in the past.  A primary source can be an object, place, song, or other cultural artifact created during the historical period you are studying.

Secondary Source - A source that was not created first-hand by someone who participated in the historical era.  Secondary sources are usually created by historians, but based on the historian's reading of primary sources.  Secondary sources are usually written decades, if not centuries, after the event occurred by people who did not live through or participate in the event or issue.

To sum it up, primary sources are sources that come from someone that was actually experienced it (first hand) and a secondary source is from someone that heard about it "second".  

So why would you want a variety?

To prove that you have researched all information and sides of the topic you have selected.  Analyzing what eye witnesses thought and what historians found out, will give you "the BIG picture".  It is also important that you include different types of sources (newspapers, books, websites, magazines, interviews, etc).  When looking at your History Day project, judges will want to know that you spent time researching and learning about your topic (not just surfing the web).

Sources:
Vandenberg-Daves, Jodi. "Chapter 2." Making History: A Guide to Historical Research through the National History Day Program. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2006. N. pag. Print.