No, an encyclopedia is a tertiary source. Encyclopedias provide extensive information about a particular topic, time period, or person in the form of entries arranged in alphabetical order. Encyclopedias, indexes, and works alike are known for compiling primary and secondary sources. As a result, they are considered tertiary sources.
The main characteristic of tertiary sources is that they repackage information. They don’t analyze sources as a secondary source would. Tertiary sources gather, compile, and organize information in a specific order, just like an encyclopedia would. Dictionaries and some textbooks are categorized as tertiary sources as well when they aim to list information.
Nevertheless, there is always an exception to the rule. Depending on the scope of your research, encyclopedias can be referenced as primary sources in some cases. For example, the Encyclopedia Britannica, one of the most popular encyclopedias, was first published in 1768 and is considered a primary source for historians because of the significant value it gained over time.
How to cite an encyclopedia
The citation style used will determine the exact citation format. This is how you would cite an entry in the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language in APA:
Byrd, D. (2011). Phonetics. In P. C. Hogan (Ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences. Cambridge University Press.
Instead of worrying about the correct format of your citation in any given citation style, you can use a reference manager like Paperpile to automatically and correctly generate your citation for you:
Frequently Asked Questions about encyclopedias as primary sources
📒 Is an encyclopedia a secondary source?
No, an encyclopedia is a tertiary source. Encyclopedias, indexes, and works alike are known for compiling primary and secondary sources. As a result, they are considered tertiary sources.
🔖 Is an encyclopedia entry a secondary source?
No, an encyclopedia entry is a tertiary source. An encyclopedia entry references information without any analysis or opinion; therefore, it is a tertiary source.
📖 Is an encyclopedia article a secondary source?
No, an encyclopedia article is a tertiary source. An encyclopedia article references information without any analysis or opinion; therefore, it is a tertiary source.
🕯️ Is the Encyclopedia Britannica a primary source?
No, the Encyclopedia Britannica is generally a tertiary source. An encyclopedia references information without any analysis or opinion; therefore, it is a tertiary source. Nevertheless, depending on the scope of your research, encyclopedias can be referenced as primary sources. The Encyclopedia Britannica, first published in 1768, is one of the most popular encyclopedias, and is considered a primary source for historians because of the significant value it gained over time.
💻 Is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy a primary source?
No, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a tertiary source. An encyclopedia references information without any analysis or opinion; therefore, it is a tertiary source.
No, an encyclopedia is a tertiary source. Encyclopedias provide extent information about a particular topic, time period, or person in the form of entries arranged in alphabetical order.
Encyclopedias are often called tertiary sources, but sometimes they can be secondary sources or primary sources. They compile information from trusted experts and produce short entries on each item.
However, subject encyclopedias are trustworthy, academic sources written by experts on the subject. Subject encyclopedia entries, or articles, also include a list of references, or further reading on the subject, that you can also use for your research.
If you need background information on a topic, or need to find out who the major theorists are in a field, you can find that information in encyclopedias. Note: While encyclopedias are reviewed and edited before being published, they are not peer reviewed and should rarely be cited in scholarly writing.
In general, information in the Encyclopedia Brittanica should count as reasonably reliable general information. You must cite it if you quote directly, and probably should in any case at all questionable.
A primary source is an original document "created or experienced contemporaneously with the event being researched." Interviews, reports, speeches, tweets, blogs, or diary entries are good examples of primary sources. A subject encyclopedia is not a primary source, but rather a secondary source.
No, the Encyclopedia Britannica is generally a tertiary source. An encyclopedia references information without any analysis or opinion; therefore, it is a tertiary source.
Encyclopedias are considered a scholarly source because the content is almost always written by scholars on the subject. However, the entries are not written for other scholars but for a general audience. Entries are reviewed by an editorial board, but they are not “peer-reviewed”.
Britannica has been widely recognized as the ultimate reliable source for comprehensive deep research with Britannica School, Britannica Academic, and Britannica Library.
The Encyclopedia Britannica contains carefully edited articles on all major topics. It fits the ideal purpose of a reference work as a place to get started, or to refer back to as you read and write.
In addition, the main disadvantages of electronic encyclopedias include dependence on information technology, high initial cost, quality control, and citation.
The online encyclopedia does not guarantee the validity of its information. It is seen as a valuable "starting point" for researchers when they pass over content to examine the listed references, citations, and sources. Academics suggest reviewing reliable sources when assessing the quality of articles.
Britannica's content is among the most trusted in the world. Every article is written, and continually fact-checked, by our experts. Subscribe to Britannica Premium and unlock our entire database of trusted content today.
Encyclopedias are great as sources of background information. This makes them excellent places to begin your research on a given topic, but certainly not the only place you would look for information.
In most cases you should avoid using dictionaries and encyclopedias as cited sources in your papers. However, there may be some cases where it would be appropriate.
Encyclopedias in general tend to be reasonably reliable sources, but should never be a SOLE source of information. Encyclopedia Britannica was compiled and checked by experts. However, studies have shown that Wikipedia is just as accurate.
Answer: No, an encyclopedia is a tertiary source. Encyclopedias, indexes, and works alike are known for compiling primary and secondary sources, as a result, they are considered tertiary sources.
Dictionaries/encyclopedias (may also be secondary), almanacs, fact books, Wikipedia, bibliographies (may also be secondary), directories, guidebooks, manuals, handbooks, and textbooks (may be secondary), indexing and abstracting sources.
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