In a message dated 8/25/2009 6:50:03 AM Pacific Daylight Time, andrewrturvey@googlemail.com writes:
Not quite. The first publication can be a secondary source, for instance if the New York Times publishes an article on a car accident. A primary source is something like a census return or, in this case, a witness statement. >>
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That is not correct Andrew. Each "source" must be published. Typically witness statements are not themselves published. You are confusing first-hand experience with primary source. A primary souce, even a census return is not first-hand, it's merely first publication.
If you took you example to extreme, then there would be no primary sources at all.
W.J.