Introducing research in law and beyond
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# 3.1.2 Different sources

You will also draw upon primary and secondary sources to undertake your research. Primary sources are evidence recorded at the time, such as a photograph, an artefact, a diary or the text of a statute or court ruling. Primary legal sources are the products of those bodies with the authority to make, interpret and apply the law. Secondary sources are what others have written or said about the primary source, their interpretation, support or critique of the primary source. Similarly, secondary legal sources are what academics, lawyers, politicians, journalists and others have said or written about a primary legal source.

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OpenLearn - Introducing research in law and beyond
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