Tertiary source
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:For A tertiary source is an index or textual consolidation of already published primary and secondary sources<ref name="umd">Primary, secondary and tertiary sources. Template:Webarchive". University Libraries, University of Maryland. Retrieve 07/26/2013</ref> that does not provide additional interpretations or analysis of the sources.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=JCU>"Tertiary sources Template:Webarchive". James Cook University.</ref> Some tertiary sources can be used as an aid to find key (seminal) sources, key terms, general common knowledge<ref name="newhaven">"Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Resources". University of New Haven.</ref> and established mainstream science on a topic. The exact definition of tertiary varies by academic field.
Academic research standards generally do not accept tertiary sources such as encyclopedias as citations,<ref name="newhaven" /> although survey articles are frequently cited rather than the original publication.
Overlap with secondary sourcesEdit
Depending on the topic of research, a scholar may use a bibliography, dictionary, or encyclopedia as either a tertiary or a secondary source.<ref name="umd"/> This causes some difficulty in defining many sources as either one type or the other.
In some academic disciplines, the differentiation between a secondary and tertiary source is relative.<ref name="umd"/><ref name=JCU />
In the United Nations International Scientific Information System (UNISIST) model, a secondary source is a bibliography, whereas a tertiary source is a synthesis of primary sources.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Types of tertiary sourcesEdit
Template:More citations needed As tertiary sources, encyclopedias, dictionaries, some textbooks,<ref name="umd" /> and compendia attempt to summarize, collect, and consolidate the source materials into an overview without adding analysis and synthesis of new conclusions.
Indexes, bibliographies, concordances, and databases are aggregates of primary and secondary sources and therefore often considered tertiary sources. They may also serve as a point of access to the full or partial text of primary and secondary sources. Almanacs, travel guides, field guides, and timelines are also examples of tertiary sources.
Wikipedia is a tertiary source.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Template:Historiography Template:Libraries and library science