CRJ 2310: Introduction to Criminology

• A primary source is a record of a person, event, or occurrence created by an eyewitness or a participant's version of an event. Primary sources allow researchers to gain better insight into historical figures and events.
   
• Primary sources emphasize the lack of intermediaries between the things or events being studied and reports of those things or events based on the belief that firsthand accounts are more accurate.
   
• Examples of primary sources include diaries, letters, notes from lab experiments, photographs, blogs, e-mails, maps, scrapbooks, Facebook pages, poetry, artwork, birthday cards, office records, and artifacts.

Primary sources relating to criminal justice and law include constitutions, cases, statutes, and regulations created by the three branches of government; photographs of a crime, testimonials, confessions, trial transcripts, physical evidence, and other artifacts found at a crime scene.