 One of the most important concepts for journalism students to understand is the difference between primary and secondary sources. When you report information to the public, your work should usually be based on primary sources, not secondary sources. It may be helpful to think of primary sources as those sources which provide first-hand evidence of an event or developments. A statement from an individual who witnessed a shooting would be a primary source. However, primary sources won't always come from interviews. An original research study that found that adults need at least nine hours of sleep at night would also be considered a primary source, because it contains the research findings written by the original authors of the study. On the other hand, secondary sources are those which analyze and interpret primary sources. For example, if a journalist writes an article for the New York Times analyzing a recent legal decision written by a judge in a major court case, that article would be a secondary source. The legal decision itself would be the primary source. It's important that journalism students carefully consider whether or not they are using primary or secondary sources as the basis for their own work. Imagine that you were assigned to write an article on a recent study testing the effectiveness of a new medication. When you perform a search in a database, you find multiple search results. You find a short article written by another journalist, which summarizes the major findings of the study. You also find the original research article written by the scientists that conducted the study. In order to provide the most accurate account of the study, you will want to use the primary source, the original research article written by the scientist, rather than the secondary source, the summary article written by the journalist. If not, you are trusting that the writer of the summary article made an accurate interpretation of the original research, which may or may not have been the case. Plus, why should a reader come to you for information if they could just get the same information in another news article? For another example, imagine you were looking for statistics on the current unemployment rate. You find two sources, a report posted on the website of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as the USA Today article listing facts from the report. To be sure you are providing your audience with the most accurate information, it would be important for you to read the actual report, rather than just relying on the summary provided in the USA Today article. Some of the most common primary sources that you will encounter as a journalist include original research articles published in academic journals, government reports, official records and legal documents, and information taken directly from an organizational website, such as the National Institute of Mental Health. Much of the work you produce as a journalist will be considered secondary. You will gather information from primary sources, analyze and interpret these sources, and then report them to the public. By relying on primary sources, you are ensuring that your own work is based on the most factual information available.