Primary Sources come in many different formats. They can include:
Photographs
Newspapers written at the time of the event
Diaries or journals
Correspondence (letters)
Oral history, videotaped or telephone interviews
Email or text messages
Artwork and sketches
Speeches
Manuscripts, or drafts, of a literary person's writings, such as novels or poems
Official records of a business, including financial ledgers, labor files and business reports
Maps
Real estate records
Patents
Graduating Class. September 14, 1961. Photograph. Communications Dept., Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City.
Newspaper Clip August 28, 1961. September 16, 2008. Photograph. Communications Dept., Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City.
This is not the actual newspaper article; it is a photograph. In this case, the actual newspaper article would be the primary source because it was written at the time of the event. The photograph is a representation of the newspaper article.
It is often confusing to determine if something is a primary source. Materials that are NOT primary sources include:
Books written after a historical event by someone who was not involved in the event. Books are considered Secondary Sources.
An interview with someone who has an opinion or is knowledgeable about a historical event, even if that person is an expert or a historian on the event.
Wikipedia entries. While these entries are a great source to find out the basics of the topic of your study, they are not Primary Sources.
Statistics compiled about a historical event (for example, a tally of the number of dead in a battle)
Encyclopedia entries
Secondary Sources are created when Primary Sources are analyzed and summed up. Books, articles, Wikipedia entries, and essays are secondary sources -- anything that is not the unfiltered representation of the subject of the writing.