In history, objects and documents created or written during the time being investigated, for example, during an event or very soon after. Examples of primary sources include official documents, such as laws and treaties; personal documents, such as diaries and letters, photographs, film and documentaries. These original, firsthand accounts are analysed by a historian to answer questions about the past.
In geography, unprocessed, original materials collected by a student, for example, field notes from observations, measurements taken from experiments, or responses received from a survey or questionnaire.