As the title suggests, Shaw's collection is drawn from humble, second-hand sources, rather than an explicit criterion of badness.
It is a fast-paced, gossipy narrative that relies on second-hand or unnamed sources for much of its new and most vivid details.
If you're going to write an article like this, common sense surely dictates that you look at the available court documents, not draw your facts from second-hand sources.
South Carolina probably acquired these numbers at least partially through second-hand sources and estimates.
The details of the discovery of die suspensor-nullification effect, on the other hand, are not fully known, and much must be interpolated from second-hand sources.
"But the fact remains- everything I know about Orions, I've gleaned from second-hand sources."
In later years, however, some fiddlers use manuscripts as a kind of "second-hand" source, for refreshing their memories.
The vast majority of those interviewed claimed to have heard about the problem either through the press or from other second-hand sources, like their political leaders.
(Mine is an understanding from a mix of tangentially related primary sources and from second-hand sources.)
There is, however, a possible second-hand source, provided by Jordanes, who cites a description given by Priscus.