Tertiary Source
A source that compiles and summarizes primary and secondary sources, such as encyclopedias, textbooks, and databases. Tertiary sources are useful for background information but are generally not cited in academic papers.
Why it matters
Tertiary sources are valuable starting points for research because they provide broad overviews and can help you identify key primary and secondary sources to read. However, relying on tertiary sources in academic papers is generally considered insufficient because they present information at a surface level without the depth of analysis that scholarly work requires.
How to use
Use tertiary sources at the beginning of your research process to get an overview of your topic, identify key terms and concepts, and find references to more authoritative primary and secondary sources. Wikipedia, for instance, can help you understand a topic quickly, but you should then follow its reference links to the original sources and cite those instead.
In academic writing
Most professors discourage or prohibit citing tertiary sources like Wikipedia, encyclopedias, or study guides in academic papers. These sources are considered too general for scholarly work. Instead, they serve as research starting points. Knowing the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources is a fundamental information literacy skill assessed in many first-year composition courses.
Common mistakes
- •Citing Wikipedia or other encyclopedias as authoritative sources in an academic paper when they should be used only as starting points for research.
- •Not recognizing that textbooks are often tertiary sources that summarize primary and secondary research rather than presenting original findings.
- •Confusing tertiary sources with secondary sources — a review article that provides original analysis is secondary, while an encyclopedia entry that simply summarizes is tertiary.
Example
Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, dictionaries
Generate a citation now
Turn the example into a real citation workflow instead of jumping to pricing.
Related Terms
Start citing with CiteMe
Generate accurate citations in 60+ styles. Free to use.