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State University of New York

EXERCISE 6: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

You're writing a research paper on the homeless problem in your town or city. Which of the following sources would be a primary source for you and which a secondary?

  1. A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: "Drifting Apart: New Findings on Growing Income Disparities Between the Rich, the Poor, and the Middle Class," 1990
    Primary Source
    Secondary Source

  2. An interview with two homeless persons in your town.
    Primary Source
    Secondary Source

  3. A book entitled The Undeserving Poor: From the War on Poverty to the War on Welfare by Michael Katz, 1989.
    Primary Source
    Secondary Source

  4. An article entitled "The Culture of Poverty" in On Understanding Poverty: Perspectives from the Social Sciences.
    Primary Source
    Secondary Source

  5. An interview with a sociology professor who teaches a course that explores the homeless problem.
    Primary Source
    Secondary Source

  6. A book by Karl Marx entitled Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, 1887.
    Primary Source
    Secondary Source

  7. Statistics on the number of homeless in New York State from the State Census Office
    Primary Source
    Secondary Source

  8. An interview with the head of a homeless shelter.
    Primary Source
    Secondary Source

EXPLANATION