Secondary source

A secondary source is a document or recording that writes or speaks about information that is one step removed from the original source.Randall VanderMey et al 2014. The College writer: a guide to thinking, writing, and researching. Stamford, CT: Cengage, p. 402. 

The secondary source depends on the  primary source or original source of the information. Secondary sources interpret, evaluate or discuss information found in primary sources.Roger Sapsford & Victor Jupp (eds) 2006. Data collection and analysis. London: SAGE, p. 142. In historiography, a secondary source is a study written by a scholar about a topic. Secondary sources frequently cite primary sources and other secondary sources.F. Allan Hanson 2007. The trouble with culture: how computers are calming the culture wars. Albany: State University of New York, p. 79 They rarely cite tertiary sources.

 Example 
A secondary source would be a book on 13th century politics, while Magna Carta itself would be a primary source.
Many secondary sources use extensive citations in the form of footnotes or endnotes.

 Legal use 
The main use of secondary sources in law is to explain the law.Andrea B. Yelin & Hope Viner Samborn 2009. The legal research and writing handbook: a basic approach for paralegals. New York: Aspen; Austin, TX: Wolters Kluwer, p. 150. They also explain legal concepts. They are used to analyze and describe laws as well as comment on them. Judicial decisions and opinions by qualified experts are secondary sources.Timo Koivurova 2014. Introduction to international environmental law. Oxford; New York: Routledge, p. 60.

Related pages
Source text
Primary source
Tertiary source

References

Further reading
Primary and secondary sources 

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Category:Science