firsthandness

Firsthandness is a term used in epistemology and the social sciences to describe the quality of knowledge obtained directly through personal experience, observation, or participation, rather than through secondhand reports or intermediaries. The word combines firsthand, meaning originating with the observer, with the abstract noun suffix -ness to denote a property or state.

In scholarly practice, firsthandness is valued for its immediacy, contextual detail, and potential to convey lived experiences. It underpins fieldwork in anthropology and sociology, experiential education, journalism, and patient or consumer testimonies. Firsthand accounts can provide insights that are difficult to capture through documents or third-party summaries and can foster empathy and nuance in analysis.

However, firsthandness is inherently subjective and selective. Memory biases, perceptual limits, and cultural framing influence what is noticed, interpreted, and remembered. The approach also risks overgeneralization from a narrow sample and challenges in replicability. To mitigate these issues, researchers often triangulate firsthand information with secondary sources, quantitative data, or cross-checks across multiple observers.

Related concepts include tacit or experiential knowledge, as discussed by Michael Polanyi, and emic knowledge in anthropology, which emphasizes insider perspectives. Firsthandness does not deny the value of summary data but highlights the distinct epistemic status of direct experience as a source of knowledge.