Primary source

From Library Instruction Wiki

"Unfiltered" or uninterpreted sources of information such source as journals or diaries in history, surveys in sociology and political science, or lab experiments in psychology. Secondary sources interpret, comment on, or summarize primary sources or research findings.

To add to the confusion, a source might be primary in one field of study, and secondary in another. For example, a newspaper story "explaining" events in Iraq will be a secondary source for those studying history, but a primary source for those studying journalism.