What is the difference between an autobiography and a biography, and which is a primary source?
An autobiography is an account of a person’s life written by that person, whereas a biography is written about a person by someone else. Unless the research topic is biography, a biography is a secondary source because the information contained within is obtained secondhand. An autobiography is usually a primary source, but only when the portion of it used is primary to the topic. For example, if Ulysses S. Grant wrote about the Battle of Gettysburg in his autobiography but he did not actually witness or participate in the battle, then his account of it is not primary.
