<Course>
A primary source and a secondary source may be similar and different in many ways. The following sources are helpful in exploring these similarities and differences: Family Ties After Divorce: Long-Term Implications for Children by Constance Ahrons (primary) and Effects of Divorce on Family Relationships (secondary).
In comparison, the two sources are similar in three ways. First, both are factual. For instance, the academic journal Family Ties After Divorce: Long-Term Implications for Children draws most of the facts from the Binuclear Family Study. This is a longitudinal study which followed and observed the lives of divorced couples and their families over the course of 20 years (Ahrons 56). On the other hand, the article Effects of Divorce on Family Relationships also presents facts rather than opinion or guesses. For instance, the article shows a graph about the quality of parent-child relationship by family structure, which came from the National Survey of Children’s Health. Second, both the primary and the secondary sources use outside sources to support their claims and to add substance to the discussion. For example, the academic journal Family Ties After Divorce: Long-Term Implications for Children cites the book of Wallerstein and Kelly entitled Surviving the Breakup as the author talks about a clinical study called The Marin County Project. On the other hand, the secondary source Effects of Divorce on Family Relationships also refers to other sources, such as the works of Meneghan and Parcel (Social Sources of Change in Children’s Home Environments: The Effects of Parental Occupational Experiences and Family Conditions), Valarie King (Parental Divorce and Interpersonal Trust in Adult Offspring), Weiss and Willis (Children as Collective Goods and Divorce Settlements), and many others. Third, both the primary and the secondary sources present an interpretation of how divorce affects the different aspects of family relationships. For instance, the primary source presents its interpretation in the section entitled Discussion and Implications for Practice. On the other hand, the secondary source presents the interpretation in different sections (e.g., Section 1 Parent-Child Relationships and Section 2 Mother-Child Relationships).
In contrast, the two sources also have three differences. First, the two differ in terms of type. The primary source, Family Ties After Divorce: Long-Term Implications for Children, is an academic journal while the secondary source, Effects of Divorce on Family Relationships, is only an article published in the website of Marripedia, a social encyclopedia. Second, they have different purposes. The primary source aims to answer two research questions: (1) What impact does the relationship between parents have on their children 20 years after the divorce? and (2) When a parent remarries or cohabits, how does it impact a child’s sense of family? (Ahrons 53). On the other hand, the secondary source serves as an expository writing that aims to inform readers about the effects of divorce. Third, the academic journal is an original work or an original interpretation. Although it refers to other sources and also evaluates different studies conducted by other researchers, the answers to the research questions are based on original interpretation of the collected data. On the other hand, the secondary source does not make an original interpretation. Instead, it only explains or echoes what have been found from other studies and other works that also explored how divorce affects different family relationships.
References
Ahrons, Constance. “Family Ties After Divorce: Long-Term Implications for Children.” Family Process 46.1 (2006): 53-56. Print.
“Effects of Divorce on Family Relationships.” Marriage and Religion Research Institute. Marripedia, n.d.. Web. 13 March 2016.
