My assignment for my history class is to find a primary source. How do I do this?
Answer
This FAQ is for the subject of History. If you are looking for information on Primary sources in the Sciences, go here.
Primary Source Defined:
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In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called original source or evidence) is an artifact, a document, a recording, or other source of information that was created at the time under study. If created by a human source, then a source with direct personal knowledge of the events being described. It serves as an original source of information about the topic. |
There is a shortcut method for finding a book in our library that is a primary source:
- Step 1: Conduct a keyword search with OneSearch and use the format shown below:
Your Subject Term(s) AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
For example, if you were looking for a primary source related to Baseball, you would type this:
Baseball AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
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Step 2: Once you have conducted the search, look to the left side of the search results page. Refine your search results by clicking on the AVAILABLE IN THE LIBRARY filter that is beneath the AVAILABLE AT CPP heading.
This is not a perfect search strategy, so you'll need to look though the results carefully for the primary sources.
Below are some example searches to help get you started.
Try formulating a search for your own favorite historical topic! Be sure to look though the results carefully for the primary sources.
- agriculture AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- arab americans AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- atomic bomb AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- baseball AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- blacklisting AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- cold war AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- crusades AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- disasters AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- explorers AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- gangs AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- genocide AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- great depression AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- holocaust AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- indian wars AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- hostages AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- labor unions AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- naturalists AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- reconstruction 1865 AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- revolution 1775 AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- slavery AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- united states civil war AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- vietnam war 1961 AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- watergate AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- womens suffrage AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- world war 1914 1918 AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
- world war 1939 AND (narratives OR correspondence OR diaries OR interviews OR memoirs)
Some simpler searches can also yield a large number of books which are primary sources:
You still need to look through the results carefully to pick out the primary sources. Also, if you are studying an historical perod where the primary documents were not in modern English, you will need to check with your instructor if translations into modern English are allowed.
You can also find many primary sources on the web:
See the website RUSA | Primary Sources on the Web: Finding, Evaluating, Using
Also see Guide to Online Primary Sources, a website from the University of California, San Diego. Provides extensive lists of mostly free primary sources covering activism, arts, business, California, ethnic studies, government/law, U.S. history, world history, Jewish studies, literature, maps, medieval, military, newspapers, religion, sciences, sexuality, women and video.