Secondary Sources
Finding Secondary Sources
Secondary Sources interpret and analyse primary sources. They are created after an event took place, or the time period under discussion, and frequently attempt to analyse the primary source material by putting it into historical context. Secondary sources generally discuss or evaluate a particular event or issue and the work is usually published in books, journal articles, encyclopedias etc.
The following examples demonstrate the difference between a primary and secondary source.
| Topic | Primary Source | Secondary Source |
| The Stolen Generation | Shadow child: a memoir of the stolen generation by Rosalie Fraser | The stolen generations, editor Justin Healey |
| John F. Kennedy | Kennedy presidential press conferences by John F.Kennedy | JFK, the presidency of John F. Kennedy by Herbert S. Parmet |
| Ned Kelly | The Jerilderie Letter by Ned Kelly | True history of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey |
History Databases
La Trobe subscribes to many databases of quality materials - some of which contain primary sources, some secondary sources, and some a combination of both.
See the library's databases page for details of a wide number of recommended history databases. The Databases section of this guide provides guidance on search strategies & key databases, and the Databases tutorials provide vendor created videos and other training materials on those key databases.
There are also secondary sources accessible outside of the library subscriptions, although you may need to undertake a closer evaluation of the appropriateness of these resources for your purposes. See Achieve@Uni - Evaluating information for some starting points.