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Educator Resources

Finding Primary Sources for Teachers and Students

Finding primary sources.

Primary Sources from DocsTeach Thousands of online primary source documents from the National Archives to bring the past to life as classroom teaching tools.

National Archives Catalog Find online primary source materials for classroom & student projects from the National Archive's online catalog (OPA).

Beginning Research Activities Student activities designed to help you navigate the National Archives resources and web site.

Online Exhibits Exhibits featuring online documents, photos and primary sources from the National Archives

Our Documents 100 Milestone Documents of American History

Getting Started with Research How to start researching records at the National Archives. Finding your topic, identifying records, planning a visit, and more.

Online Research Tools & Aids Introduction to catalogs, databases, and other online resources.

Citing Primary Sources Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States

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Finding historical primary sources: getting started.

• Getting Started
• Primary Sources Online
• Search Tools
• Finding a Type of Primary Source
• By Topic, Author, Title, Date

Definitions

Primary sources were either created during the time period being studied or were created at a later date by a participant in the events being studied (as in the case of memoirs).  They reflect the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer.  Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period

A secondary source is a work that interprets or analyzes an historical event or phenomenon.  It is generally at least one step removed from the event is often based on primary sources.  Examples include:  scholarly or popular books and articles, reference books, and textbooks.

After you've found your primary sources, learn to analyze them using The Bancroft Library's Primary Source Analysis Exercises .

Where are Primary Sources at UCB?

Primary sources on campus may be in their original format ; examples might include:

• Patrick Breen diary (Donner Party) ( Bancroft Library )
• Julia Morgan Papers ( Environmental Design Archives )
• Chicano posters ( Chicano Studies Library )
• Social Protest Collection  (flyers, leaflets, papers) ( Bancroft Library )

Some primary sources have been reproduced in another format , for instance:

• Patrick Breen diary:  published as a book (one edition here , available to check out) and available online .
• Papers of the NAACP  (originals at the Library of Congress ; partially reproduced as a library database:  NAACP Papers:  The NAACP's Major Campaigns , and in another library database:  NAACP Papers 2:  Education, Voting, Housing Employment . )
• Newsreels (originals in various archives; available in library databases such as Academic Video Online .)
• Some historical newspapers and magazines (examples include:  San Francisco Chronicle , Harper’s Weekly , The Japan Times ) –historical full text available through a UCB Library database.

Online primary sources may be found via free web sites as well as via Library databases.

Primary sources may be physically located in any of a number of UC Berkeley Libraries , or they may be available online.

Archives are collections of original unpublished, historical and contemporary material – in other words, collections of primary sources.  Before you go to any archival collection on campus you can save time and effort if you first:

• Note the hours of each location.   Explore the library's web site and any special use conditions that may apply (registration, lockers, appointments, materials that need to be recalled from storage, restrictions on duplication, etc.)
• Search the discovery tool for the 10 UC libraries:   UC Library Search  ( guide )  to find the titles and call numbers of specific items.
• If you need to use manuscript collections, look to see if the collection has a finding aid .  Some finding aids list the contents of collections, box by box, folder by folder; others are less detailed.  Some finding aids are available online via the Online Archive of California   (the primary source itself may or may not be available online).  
• For more information about using archives (the organizations that collect manuscript collections) please see The Bancroft Library's Introduction to primary source research.

Ask for assistance (24/7 chat, appointments, etc. ) at any time!

To Know Before You Search

Think about what types of primary sources might have been produced that would be relevant to your topic; think also about which persons or organizations might have produced materials. Some possible types of sources:

Finding Background Information

Gather the information you have about your topic and consider what you still need to know before you start researching.  You can use this information in searching for primary sources .

• Names of persons involved
• Names of organizations, government agencies, societies, etc.

Many users go to Wikipedia for background information, but the Library also provides  reference works and secondary sources to help you find background information on your topic.  You may find reference sources by:

• browsing the reference collection at the appropriate campus library
• Indians of north america encyclopedias
• women diaries bibliography

Visiting the Bancroft Library

Some Bancroft materials are available online via  Calisphere , which also includes primary sources from many other California libraries and museums. Bancroft also maintains additional digital resources .

Before you go:

Be prepared! Read secondary sources and know something about your topic.

Register as a researcher. Registration is free and takes just a few minutes using the Aeon  online registration form to register in advance. For more information, see the Aeon guide .

In UC Library Search you can narrow your search to UC Berkeley special collections and archives. As you type your search, options to search different parts of the Library system appear. Narrowing your search this way is also possible in Advanced Search.

Materials must be requested using Aeon.  You must have an Aeon account to request materials . It is recommended that you request your materials in advance of your visit and to submit your requests at least one week prior to your visit to Bancroft.  For more information please visit the Aeon guide .

If the UC Library Search record mentions a finding aid (an index) to a manuscript collection, you should use it to help you find what you need in the collection.  If the finding aid is online, there will be a link from the catalog record.  Many of the finding aids that are not online are shelved near the Registration Desk at the Bancroft Library. You can also search for Bancroft finding aids in the  Online Archive of California .

Before you go, plan your visit  (and bring a quarter for a locker).

During your visit:

• Store your belongings in the lockers provided, located on the right-hand side of the east entrance. Pass the security guard station and proceed up one level by stairs or elevator to the Reading Room and Seminar Rooms (3rd floor).
• Check in at the Registration Desk, located on the left-hand side of the entrance to the Reference Center. You will need a photo ID.
• Go to the Circulation Desk, where you will be assigned a seat and can request the materials you pre-ordered.  
• For research-related questions, ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.

How to Get to the Bancroft Library

Check the current hours for the Bancroft Library .  For more information, see the Aeon guide .

The Bancroft Library is on the second floor of Doe, on the east side (the side closest to the Campanile).  See a floor plan of Doe Library 2nd floor  (pdf).

• Next: Primary Sources Online >>
• Last Updated: Sep 17, 2024 1:51 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/subject-guide/163-Finding-Historical-Primary-Sources

Primary sources: a guide for historians

Introduction, a general strategy for finding primary sources.

• Finding primary sources at Princeton
• Primary source guides
• Guides to finding sources in UK archives
• Practical advice

Librarian for History and African American Studies

Research methods

It may benefit you to look at some resources that provide an overview into the techniques of historical research.

Sage Research Methods  ("Browse" by discipline, look for History) provides a number of handbooks and case studies.

A catalog search on the subject History--Methodology will provide a number of useful books.

About primary sources

Whether you are beginning a junior paper, a senior thesis, or a doctoral dissertation in history, the first challenge is to identify a cache of primary source material that addresses the issue, person, place, or period that interests you. This guide offers some general suggestions about how to get started.

Primary sources can be either published or unpublished, and can be found in many formats, such as manuscripts, books, microfilm, photographs, video and sound recordings. Some primary sources are available in more than one format -- for example, a collection of manuscript letters may also have been published in book form, or may have been digitized and made available on the Internet. Begin by asking two basic questions:

What evidence was created?

What evidence was saved, and where.

For the most part, the evidence used by historians to answer historical questions was not created for that purpose. The evidence of the past -- official records, personal papers, videorecordings, physical remains -- was created to serve the purposes of people with very different agendas. Nonetheless, it is very useful to think about some broad categories of evidence, in part because understanding these categories can help you find the material you need.

• The records and publications of governments
• The records and publications of organizations
• The papers of individuals
• Material culture -- buildings, artifacts, and art

It is particularly useful to consider whether the material you need would have been published (newspapers, books) or would have had a more limited circulation (intra-office memos, personal correspondence, a private photo album.)

Think about who might have collected the material you're hoping to find:

• Published primary sources like newspapers, books, and government reports are likely to be held in libraries.
• Unpublished documents and administrative records produced by national government agencies are likely to be held in national archives; those produced by local administrations are likely to be held in municipal record offices or state archives.
• Materials produced by an organization or business will likely be held by that organization if it still exists; if it no longer exists, look for an affiliated organization or a library or archive that collects material on that topic.
• Personal papers, diaries, and materials related to local history are likely to be held in local libraries or historical societies.
• Museum, archives and libraries all have collections of art and artifacts as well a written records.

Some examples:

• The records of the U.S. federal government are held at the National Archives .
• The records of the New York City government are at the New York City Municipal Archive s (but much other important material on NYC is at the New York Public Library or the New-York Historical Society.)
• The personal papers of Harry Truman are held at the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri.
• The records of the British East India Company are held at the British Library .
• The records of the Triangle Club are at the University Archives at Princeton.

Finally, keep in mind that the material you need may be scattered among several libraries and archives.

• Consult the bibliography, notes and acknowledgments in a good, recent secondary work on the subject that interests you -- does the writer tell you where the primary sources can be found?
• If you still haven't found that person's papers, search Worldcat for that person as an Author. You will find both published and unpublished material by that person.
• Can you identify an organization that was involved in the events you are studying? Search Worldcat for that organization as an Author.
• Search ArchiveGrid or Archive Finder , two databases that list archival collections in the U.S. and elsewhere.
• To find printed subject guides to archival resources in the library catalogs, do a keyword search for a subject term plus archiv?, e.g. brewing and archiv?
• Google your topic, using words like "papers" or "archives" as part of your search.
• Next: Finding primary sources at Princeton >>
• Last Updated: Dec 19, 2023 2:15 PM
• URL: https://libguides.princeton.edu/history/primarysources

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Program Teachers

Finding primary sources.

The Library of Congress makes millions of unique primary sources available online to everyone, everywhere. There are a few different ways to discover the best primary sources for you.

Select from a curated set

Primary Source Sets – Each set collects primary sources on a specific frequently-taught topic, along with historical background information and teaching ideas.

Free to Use and Reuse Sets – Batches of primary sources on engaging topics.

U.S. History Primary Sources Timeline – Explore important topics and moments in U.S. history through historical primary sources from the Library’s collections.

Search the online collections

Successful searches of the online collections of the Library of Congress, as with any archival research institution, begin with an understanding of what is likely to be found. Many considerations, including copyright, collection strengths, and how materials were acquired, factor into what can be digitized and made available online. The Library’s online collections are extensive, but they do have limits, and are strongest in the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century.

Use the search box at the top of the Library of Congress home page . A few tips:

• Before starting your search take a moment to make a list of possible search terms.
• Remember that different words or phrases may have been used to describe events or items in the past. For example: In the past the flu was sometimes known as the grippe.
• People or places may have been identified differently or may have used different names previously. For example: Eleanor Roosevelt may be known as Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• There may be different spellings for names or places during the period you’re researching.
• Use the drop-down menu to the left of the search box to select a format, like Maps, before you search.
• To the left you will see a list of ways to narrow your search results. Scroll to the bottom to Access Condition and select “Available Online.”
• Scroll back to the top and narrow your search results using the facets to the left of your search results, like Date and Location.
• Select “Gallery” or “Grid” to change how you view the results. You can:
• increase the number of items you see at one time at the bottom of the page;
• change how the results are organized so they can be seen chronologically or in alphabetical order.
• Find an item that is of interest? On the item page look to the right and find the subject headings listed. You can click on those to see what other items are listed under that same subject heading.
• Explore related items at the bottom of the page.
• Additional search tips can be found on the Library’s Search Help page .

Explore online resources

Congress.gov – Explore current and historic information on bills, laws and the legislative branch of the government.

Chronicling America – Access historic newspapers from all fifty states and the District of Columbia for accounts of historic and everyday events as reported at the time they happened.

Check with the experts

Teaching with the Library blog – Short (500 words or less) posts featuring primary sources and teaching ideas.

Other Library blogs offer tips on finding Library resources, suggestions for other search terms or research ideas, and expert secondary information.

Today in History – Provides information and links to primary sources about a specific event in history.

Research Guides - In-depth guides to Library resources on a wide variety of topics.

Ask a Librarian – Send a question to a Library of Congress reference librarian. We're happy to help!

History Research Guide

• Getting Started
• Finding Scholarly Sources

What are Primary Sources

How to access primary sources, using original materials, searching digitized materials, finding published collections.

• Cite and Organize

Primary sources are the pieces of evidence that historians analyze and interpret to support their historical arguments.

Depending on your topic, almost any kind of material can be used as a primary source as long as it was created during the time period that you are researching or was created by someone who participated, as in the case of oral histories or memoirs.

Letters, Diaries, Scientific Data, Interviews, Photographs, Maps, Videos, Manuscripts, Newspapers, Speeches, Oral Histories, Artifacts, Government Documents, Art, Ephemera, Broadsides, Memoirs, Songs, and More!

Primary sources are shared or made available in three main ways:

• Original items , such as diaries, artifacts, etc., are held in archives, museums, libraries, and private collections.
• Digitized versions of original sources are provided online by institutions and commercial vendors.
• Published collections are available from libraries, in the form of documentary sourcebooks, anthologies, critical editions, and microfilmed document collections to name a few.

To work with original materials, you'll need to visit in person.

• Identify an institution that has a collection(s) related to your topic. Try an internet search or look for digitized collections to see who created them.
• Search their library catalog for items or collections. For more details, you may need to consult a finding aid. Finding aids are documents which inventory and describe what a collection includes and how it is organized. Here is a sample finding aid for the Luther J. Battiste, III Papers  from South Carolina Political Collections.
• Consult with the archivist or curator at that institution. Be as clear and specific as possible about your research and what you're seeking.

Identify relevant online databases from the library or search in free online repositories.

• Historical Newspapers available from University Libraries Some databases include a number of different newspaper publications from a specific time period. Others provide an archive of a single newspaper, such as The New York Times Historical.
• Primary Source databases available from University Libraries These databases provide a wide array of materials, including magazine articles, government documents, personal papers, books, videos and more. Some cover a specific topic or theme and others contain only one type of material, such as videos.
• South Carolina Digital Library (SCDL) This free resource combines collections from libraries, archives, museums, and cultural heritage institutions across the state to promote South Carolina’s cultural and historical resources.
• Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Digitized primary sources from archives, museums, and institutions across the country, including all materials in South Carolina Digital Library.
• HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window This collection of digitized books provides free online access to materials in the public domain (i.e., no longer protected by copyright). To access member features, click LOG IN and select University of South Carolina from the dropdown list. Then enter your UofSC network username and password.

Before digitization, accessing published document collections from libraries was a key way to use primary materials held in distant locations without needing to travel. It is often still the easiest way to find reproductions, transcriptions, and translations of very old texts or texts in a foreign language.

• Find It @ USC Libraries: Advanced Search Adding the term sources in the Subject field is one way to identify published document collections.

Other Subject or Keyword terms to identify books with primary materials:

• << Previous: Finding Scholarly Sources
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• Last Updated: Sep 11, 2024 6:04 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.sc.edu/history

University Library

Library Research for Undergraduate History Students: An Introduction

• Starting Points
• Secondary Sources

What are Primary Sources?

Published vs unpublished primary sources, how do i find primary sources, shelf browsing, struggling, learn more about primary sources.

• Constructing Your Paper
• Video Tutorials
• Return to HPNL Website
• Ask a Librarian

Primary sources are produced at the time of the event or phenomenon you are investigating, and they purport to document it. They reflect what someone observed or believed about an event at the time it occurred or soon afterwards. These sources provide raw material that you will analyze and interpret. Primary sources can be published or unpublished. 

There are different types of primary sources for different historical periods. For example, church documents and saints' lives serve as primary sources for the study of medieval history, while newspapers, government reports, and photographs serve as primary sources for the modern period. Moreover, what constitutes a primary source depends in part on how you have formulated your research topic. An article in an academic journal from 1984 could be a secondary source because it is part of an ongoing scholarly analysis of your topic, or it could be primary source because it provides evidence of attitudes and opinions held by people in 1984. In other words, there is no intrinsic or distinguishing feature of a text that makes it a primary, rather than a secondary, source. In fact, many sources, whether visual or textual, can serve as either primary or secondary sources. The key is how you use the material. In order to determine whether a source might be primary or secondary for your purposes, you must consider it in relation to your particular topic.

Unpublished primary sources are original documents and artifacts of all kinds that were created by individuals but not published (that is, made public --issued in a format that could be widely distributed) during the period you are studying. In the past, only archives and museums preserved these kinds of primary source materials, and researchers had to travel all over the world to use them. With the invention of microfilming, and later, digitization, it became possible to create facsimiles of large collections of primary source materials. Large research libraries like the UIUC Library have extensive collections of microfilm and digital facsimiles of unpublished primary sources. Universities also have rare books libraries and university archives, which hold original unpublished primary source materials.

In general, published primary source material covers a wide range of publications, including first-person accounts, memoirs, diaries, letters, newspapers, statistical reports, government documents, court records, reports of associations, organizations and institutions, treatises and polemical writings, chronicles, saints' lives, charters, legal codes, maps, graphic material (e.g. photographs, posters, advertising images, paintings, prints, and illustrations), literary works and motion pictures. Some of these materials were not published at the time of their creation (e.g. letters), but have subsequently been published in a book. For example, The Selected Papers of Margaret Sanger  is a selection from birth control activist Margaret Sanger's letters and other unpublished papers, presented in chronological order, which contextual information provided by expert editors.

Here's an overview:

There are many ways to find digitized primary sources, both published and unpublished, starting with our Digital Collections guide:

• Digital Collections Guide by History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library Last Updated Sep 3, 2024 1405 views this year

You can find published primary sources by using library catalogs, research guides, and published bibliographies. You can also look at secondary literature on your topic to ascertain what sources other scholars have used in their research. Our Guide to Primary Source Reprints is another good place to look for published primary sources:

• Primary Source Reprints by History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library Last Updated Sep 13, 2024 616 views this year

To find published primary sources in library catalogs, try these strategies:

-Search by date of publication to find sources that were published during the time period you're researching --you can also use this strategy in full-text digital collections such as ProQuest Historical Newspapers

-Use the library catalog advanced search option and include one or more of these Library of Congress Subject Heading form subdivisions as subject search terms:

• Correspondence
• Personal narratives
• Early works to 1800
• Manuscripts

You can find unpublished primary sources in the University of Illinois Library in the library catalog and in the University Archives Holdings Database . You can find materials held by other archives and museums using ArchiveGrid (an inventory of archival finding aids), or using the "archival material" format in WorldCat . Microfilm facsimiles of primary source materials are also included in WorldCat and other library catalogs:

• University of Illinois Library Catalog Use the Library Catalog to identify books, journals (but not journal articles), microform collections, and digital collections owned by the University of Illinois. The Library Catalog is the primary tool for exploring the collections of the University of Illinois Library, the second largest academic library collection in the United States. In the Library Catalog you can search for books by subject, and you identify the location within the Library of a particular book or journal. Books and journals are organized in the library by subject. Each item is assigned one or more subject headings and a unique call number. Subject headings are standardized terms from the Library of Congress. The call number is based on the Dewey Decimal Classification or Library of Congress Classification . Boolean operators must be capitalized if used: AND, OR, NOT. Interface automatically truncates some search terms unless Boolean operators are used within the same query line. You can also browse catalog records by call number, creating a "virtual shelf browsing" experience.
• University of Illinois Archives Holdings Database Finding aids for archival collections held by the University Archives, and the Student Life and Culture Archive
• HathiTrust Over 17 million books, periodicals, and government documents digitized by Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and research libraries. About 2,500,000 of these works can be read online (because they are public domain works, and therefore freely accessible).
• WorldCat This link opens in a new window WorldCat is a worldwide union catalog created and maintained collectively by more than 9,000 member institutions. With millions of online records built from the bibliographic and ownership information of contributing libraries, it is the largest and most comprehensive database of its kind. You can also use WorldCat on the FirstSearch platform .
• ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window Destination for searching through historical documents, personal papers, and family histories held in archives around the world. Thousands of libraries, museums, and archives have contributed nearly a million collection descriptions to ArchiveGrid. Researchers searching ArchiveGrid can learn about the many items in each of these collections, contact archives to arrange a visit to examine materials, and order copies.

In order to browse the shelves, you need to know the “classification number” for your topic. Once a new book is assigned subject headings, it is then “classified” according to the Dewey Decimal Classification. In Dewey, the first three numbers indicate the main subject, and additional numbers are added after a decimal point to narrow the subject. Books and journals on historical topics are usually classified in the 900s, although much of social history gets classified in the 300s, and film is classified in the 700s.

Once you have identified a few books on your topic by doing a subject search in the online catalog, you can browse the shelf under the same general number(s) to find related works. For example, if you know that the book Slaves on Screen, by Natalie Z. Davis, has the call number 791.43655 D29s, you could go to the Main Stacks to browse the shelves under the same Dewey number to find related material.

Because so much of the Library collection is now stored in a high density, off-site storage facility, it's no longer possible to browse the collection as completely as it once was. You can, however, do "virtual shelf browsing" using the Library Catalog :

• University of Illinois Library Catalog: Browse Search Use this interface to browse the catalog by author, subject heading, or call number. Choose the type of browse you want to conduct using the drop down menu at the left of the search box.

If you're having trouble finding primary sources for a topic you've already started researching, go back to your secondary literature: what sources have other scholars consulted?  These should be cited in the footnotes or endnotes and/or described in an essay in the back of the book.

If you haven't decided on your topic yet, browsing the primary source collections described in the Digital Collections Guide can be a good way to find inspiration. Find a source that interests you, whether it's something you're surprised by, something that doesn't make sense, or just something you'd like to know more about.

• Guide to Digital Collections (History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library) Guide to digitized primary source collections, for the most part collections that are owned or licensed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library. Organized by broad discipline (History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and African American Studies). History is subdivided by region and time period.

If you have time, one of the best guides to conducting serious library research is the Oxford Guide to Library Research :

• The Oxford Guide to Library Research This guide has long been the standard introduction to library research methods, since its first edition in 1993 ( Library Research Models ).

Don't forget that you can Ask a Librarian for assistance at any stage of your research, or, for more in depth assistance, Schedule a Research Consultation with a subject specialist librarian:

• Schedule a Research Consultation Browse from the list of the Library's subject specialist librarians, and schedule an appointment with the subject librarian in your field.

Primary Source Village . Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois, 2006.

Williams, Robert C. "Sources and Evidence." The Historian's Toolbox: A Student's Guide to the Theory and Craft of History . Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2003.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. "From Problems to Sources." The Craft of Research . 3d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.

• Research Methods: Primary Sources Guides, tutorials, case studies, and videos that teach students how to find and use primary sources for historical research.
• << Previous: Secondary Sources
• Next: Constructing Your Paper >>
• Last Updated: Sep 12, 2024 3:11 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/historicalresearch

Primary Sources for Historical Research

• Introduction
• Poll, Survey, & Demographic Data
• Databases with U.S. Government Info
• Archives & Special Collections at Randall

Social Sciences & History Librarian

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Related Guides

• History by Kiana Webster Last Updated Aug 19, 2024 387 views this year
• Newspapers and Magazines (Historical) by Kiana Webster Last Updated Aug 30, 2024 110 views this year
• Searching Beyond Randall Library is a guide to searching beyond Randall Library for hard-to-find items.

We March with Selma!

Before you begin

Before you start your search,  make a list of the terms, places, people, and specific events  about which you want to find primary resources. Remember to keep in mind the language used during the time period you are researching, as those words will allow you to find materials that you might not otherwise locate using modern terms. For example, during the Civil Rights era, some newspapers might have used the term "Negro," rather than "African American" as we use today. Keep this list handy and add to it as you learn more about the topic.

What are primary sources? Why are they useful?

Primary sources  refer to documents or other items that provide first-hand, eyewitness accounts of events. For example, if you are studying the civil rights movement, a newspaper article published the day after the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march and a memoir written by someone who participated in the march would both be considered primary sources.

Historians use primary sources as the raw evidence to analyze and interpret the past. They publish secondary sources - often scholarly articles or books - that explain their interpretation. When you write a historical research paper, you are creating a secondary source based on your own analysis of primary source material. 

Examples of primary sources include diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, photographs, videos, public opinion polls, and government records, among many other things.

Historical Newspapers and Magazines

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Primary sources for history.

• Tips for Searching UC Library Search to find primary sources
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What is an historical primary source?

DEFINITION : Primary sources are original sources created at the time a historical event occurs (or possibly afterwards) and are directly associated with their creater (or user). Essentially, a primary source is the subjective interpretation of a witness to an event. Primary sources serve as the raw materials historians use to interpret / analyze the past.

Some examples include:

• Next: Tips for Searching UC Library Search to find primary sources >>
• Last Updated: Sep 5, 2024 11:07 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/primary_sources

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• University of Wisconsin–Madison
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
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• Introduction to Historical Research

Introduction to Historical Research : Home

• Archival sources
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Subject-Specialist Librarians

There are librarians on campus that can help you with your specific area of research.

Subject Librarian Directory Subject-specialist/ liaison librarians are willing to help you with anything from coming up with research strategies to locating sources.

Ask a Librarian

or click for more options ...

This guide is an introduction to selected resources available for historical research.  It covers both primary sources (such as diaries, letters, newspaper articles, photographs, government documents and first-hand accounts) and secondary materials (such as books and articles written by historians and devoted to the analysis and interpretation of historical events and evidence).

"Research in history involves developing an understanding of the past through the examination and interpretation of evidence. Evidence may exist in the form of texts, physical remains of historic sites, recorded data, pictures, maps, artifacts, and so on. The historian’s job is to find evidence, analyze its content and biases, corroborate it with further evidence, and use that evidence to develop an interpretation of past events that holds some significance for the present.

Historians use libraries to

• locate primary sources (first-hand information such as diaries, letters, and original documents) for evidence
• find secondary sources (historians’ interpretations and analyses of historical evidence)
• verify factual material as inconsistencies arise"

( Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age, Fifth Edition, by Diana Hacker and Barbara Fister, Bedford/St. Martin, 2010)

This guide is meant to help you work through these steps.

Other helpful guides

This is a list of other historical research guides you may find helpful:

• Learning Historical Research Learning to Do Historical Research: A Primer for Environmental Historians and Others by William Cronon and his students, University of Wisconsin A website designed as a basic introduction to historical research for anyone and everyone who is interested in exploring the past.
• Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students by Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College Guide to all aspects of historical scholarship—from reading a history book to doing primary source research to writing a history paper.
• Writing Historical Essays: A Guide for Undergraduates Rutgers History Department guide to writing historical essays
• History Study Guides History study guides created by the Carleton College History Department

• Next: Books >>
• Last Updated: Mar 4, 2024 12:48 PM
• URL: https://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/introhist

University Libraries

• Catholic University Libraries

History Research Guide

• Understanding Primary Sources
• Where to locate books
• Articles and Databases
• Evaluating Web Resources
• Other Research Tools
• Open Access Course & Teaching Resources

What is a Primary Source?

Primary sources of information are those that provide first-hand accounts of the events, practices, or conditions you are researching. In general, these are documents that were created by the witnesses or first recorders of these events at about the time they occurred .  In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document created by such a person. In History, primary sources are usually letters, records or other documents created during the period that is being studied, such as diaries, legal notices or accounts. However, primary sources can include photographs, jewelry and other items.  Primary sources also include first-hand accounts that were documented later, such as autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories. However, the most useful primary sources are usually considered to be those that were created closest to the time period you are researching. 

Video on Primary Sources

Primary and Secondary Sources from the SCC Library on Vimeo .

• << Previous: Other Research Tools
• Next: Open Access Course & Teaching Resources >>
• Last Updated: Sep 11, 2024 1:07 PM

Historical Research & Historiography

• History Databases
• Types of Sources: Getting Started
• Book Reviews
• Research Tips: Getting Started with Your Topic
• Research Tips: Database Searching
• Evaluating Resources
• Annotated Bibliography
• Historiography
• Chicago Style Citations
• Interlibrary Loan

Instructional Services Librarian

Three Types of Sources: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary

When conducting research, scholars will consult a range of different sources and documents to gather information, conduct analyses, and provide an interpretation. For the purposes of historical research, these sources can be identified within three categories:

Using a combination of all three types of sources build a more comprehensive and convincing argument.  Primary sources are typically used for evidence and analysis, while s econdary and tertiary sources are used to show how your research participates in the disciplinary community and the existing body of research on that topic.

Can a source be more than one type?

Yes. The category that a particular source falls into depends on the context with which you are using it. 

For example, a newspaper article could be considered a secondary source for the argument or interpretation of a particular person or event. That same newspaper article could also act as a primary source, though, if you were writing a paper on how media outlets portrayed that particular person or event. 

Primary Sources: the "Raw Materials" of History

Primary Sources are the firsthand evidence of an event or time period. They are produced within that period and can provide insight into how people, institutions, and places lived. Primary sources can take many forms, particularly when conducting historical research. 

Examples of Primary Sources include:

• personal accounts, like journals, diaries, letters, or memoirs
• records, such as court transcripts or tax ledgers
• photographs, audio and video recordings, films
• published books, novels, short stories, speeches
• pamphlets, newspaper articles, or magazine articles
• advertisements or printed ephemera
• non-textual artifacts, like furniture, curiosities, jewelry, clothing, costumes

Searching for Primary Sources

There are a variety of ways to search for primary sources. When you begin your search, consider these questions:

• How might people in that time documented or recorded this event, topic, or person?
• What institutions or organizations were involved in the event, topic, person?
• What persons were involved in the topic and how might I find their perspective?

Many university, research, and cultural institutions have made great strides in creating digitized versions of primary source material. Below are several repositories to consider as well as tips for searching within the Collier Library's digital resources.

Primary Source Databases for Documents, Books, Diaries, Video

• ACLS Humanities E-Book
• African-American History Online
• American History in Video  
• Cambridge Histories Online
• Early English Books Online (EEBO)  
• Eighteenth Century Collections Online  
• Slavery and Anti-Slavery: a Transnational Archive  

Historical Newspaper Databases

• Early American Newspapers
• Historical New York Times
• London Times Digital Archives
• Newspaper Source

Publicly Available Digitized Collections

• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• Digital Public Library of America
• NYPL Digital Library
• National Archives

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are pieces of historiography that use primary sources to offer an analysis, interpretation, or a synopsis as well as other secondary sources to inform that perspective and context.

Secondary sources are not simply chronologies of historical events nor are they impartial  - they are books, articles, and more that provide a specific argument or interpretation about the past that is rooted in the historical evidence they use, i.e. primary sources. Historians will include other secondary sources in order to substantiate claims they make, to challenge other interpretations, or to supplement perspectives from other historians.

Examples of secondary sources :

• Scholarly Books
• Essays in anthologies
• Articles from edited collections
• Articles from Scholarly Journals
• Biographies
• Book reviews
• Documentary films
• Literary criticism

Searching for Secondary Sources

When searching for secondary sources, you may wish to consider a range of sources including scholarly articles, books, monographs, biographies, and more. Once you have identified your topic and created your search strategy, use the limiters within a database to narrow down by these source types. 

Databases for Secondary Sources

The definitive database of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present.

Historical Abstracts with Full Text  

 Historical Abstracts with Full Text is an exceptional resource that covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and much more. 

JSTOR  

Full image backfiles for over 1000 core academic journals with full text and cross disciplinary searching capabilities.

Project Muse  :  

A database with a comprehensive selection of prestigious humanities and social sciences journals. Coverage: 1840 - present

Discovery/Library Catalog

Using Discovery on the Library's website will allow you to search across a range of our databases as well as our print collection in the library. Use the search limiters on the left side of the database to narrow by source type.

Tertiary Sources

Tertiary sources often include both primary and secondary sources, but they do not present any new information or analysis. They typically accumulate a number of separate but related accounts of a particular event, issue, or body of scholarship. They are good starting points to a new topic or project, because they can quickly distill a vast amount of information and provide links to more specific or detailed secondary sources.

Examples of tertiary sources:

• Reference works
• Encyclopedias or Encyclopedic Databases
• Dictionaries

Searching for Tertiary Sources

When searching for tertiary sources, consider what type of reference you are hoping to find. Are you interested in clarifying the definition of a historical term? You may need a dictionary. Are you wishing to find a quick review of a major event in history? You may need an encyclopedia article or textbook discussing the event. Include these source types as keywords to narrow in on these resources.

Encyclopedias

Gale in Context: U.S. History  

Uncover information on hundreds of the most significant people, events, and topics in U.S. history from a variety of sources.

Gale in Context: World History  

Uncover information on hundreds of the most significant people, events, and topics in world history from a variety of sources.

Gale OneFile: U.S. History  

Search balanced coverage of events in U.S. history. Best for novice historians and academic researchers. Updated daily.

Gale OneFile: World History  

Access balanced coverage of events in world history and scholarly work being established in the field.

• << Previous: History Databases
• Next: Book Reviews >>
• Last Updated: Nov 10, 2023 12:21 PM
• URL: https://libguides.una.edu/histresearch

Discovery Browse Databases

Campus Libraries

Collier Library Kilby School Library

• Books, Articles, & More
• Curriculum Library
• Archives & Special Collections
• Scholars Crossing
• Research Guides
• Student Support
• Faculty Support
• Interlibrary Loan

History Research Guide: Primary Sources and Archives

• Books & E-books
• HIUS Resources
• HIEU Resources
• HIWD Resources
• Public History
• Videos and Media
• Military Studies and Strategic Intelligence
• British History
• World War 1
• American Experience
• Presidential Studies
• United States Civil War
• Faculty Favorites

Primary Sources and Archives

These are good resources to consider when looking for Primary Source and Archive content.

• Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window Full-text primary sources on a variety of topics consisting of archival newspapers, legal documents, government documents, and more For more information, view this brief tutorial on using Gale Primary Sources .
• Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 This link opens in a new window Scans of documents providing firsthand accounts of history in the Americas
• EEBO (Early English Books Online) This link opens in a new window Extensive full-text collection of early English books, including titles by John Locke, Captain John Smith, William Shakespeare, and others For more information, view this brief tutorial on using EEBO .
• America's Historical Imprints (Evans & Shaw-Shoemaker) This link opens in a new window e-books, pamphlets, and other printed materials covering American history, literature, culture, and daily life from 1639-1820
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index This link opens in a new window Single-search of the full-text of The New York Times (1851-2014), The Washington Post (1877-2002), The Baltimore Sun (1837-1993), The Guardian ‎(1791-2003), The Observer‎ (1791-2003), and Chicago Defender (1909-2010), including full page and article images For more information, view this brief tutorial on using ProQuest Historical Newspapers .
• HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window Extensive collection of digitized works from leading research libraries worldwide, providing access to rare, out-of-print, and public domain materials
• History Commons (formerly Accessible Archives) This link opens in a new window Full-text primary source articles, books, newspapers, and periodicals on 19th and 20th century American history
• British Periodicals This link opens in a new window Full-text historical periodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth on a variety of topics from a British perspective For more information, view this brief tutorial on using British Periodicals .
• Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window Full-text peer-reviewed articles on a wide variety of subjects such as education, literature, political science, psychology, sociology, and more For more information, view this brief tutorial on using Periodicals Archive Online .
• Center for Research Libraries (CRL) This link opens in a new window Newspapers, journals, books, archives, and government publications covering agriculture, economics, engineering, history, law, news, science, technology, and more
• AM Explorer This link opens in a new window Full-text primary sources from the 15th to the 21st centuries covering area studies, cultural studies, empires, ethnic studies, history, politics, literature, theatre, war, and more For more information, view this brief tutorial on using AM Explorer .
• There are a large number of collections in AM Explorer.  A selection of them include the following:
• America in World War 2
• American History -- 1493 - 1945
• Colonial America
• Eighteenth Century Journals
• Everyday Life of Women in America -- 1800 - 1920
• First World War
• Gender: Identity and Social Change
• Race Relations in America
• Service Newspapers of World War 2
• Slavery, Abolition, & Social Justice

Papers of US Presidents and Political Leaders

See the Presidential Studies tab above.

• Founders Online Correspondence and Other Writings of Seven Major Shapers of the United States:

National Archive Sites

United States National Archive

• DocsTeach National Archives

Online Archives of California

Washington State Digital Archives

British Online Archives

Seventh Day Adventist Church Archives

Library of Virginia Historical Newspaper Archive

Collected Sources

• Virginia Archives (from Early American Sources Page)
• << Previous: Videos and Media
• Next: Newspapers >>
• Last Updated: Sep 3, 2024 3:11 PM
• URL: https://libguides.liberty.edu/history

• Harvard Library
• Research Guides
• Faculty of Arts & Sciences Libraries

Library Research Guide for History

• Finding Primary Sources Online
• Newsletter September 2024
• Exploring Your Topic
• HOLLIS (and other) Catalogs
• Document Collections/Microfilm
• Outline of Primary Sources for History

Finding Primary Sources Online: Contents

General Digital Libraries

Is This Book Available Open Access?

Finding primary sources on the open web.

Finding the Right Subscription Database

Museum Objects

Local online sources, digitized harvard collections, digital libraries/collections by region or language.

• Finding Online Sources: Detailed Instructions
• Religious Periodicals
• Personal Writings/Speeches
• Oral History and Interviews
• News Sources
• Archives and Manuscripts
• Government Archives (U.S.)
• U.S. Government Documents
• Foreign Government & International Organization Documents
• French Legislative Debates/Documents
• State and City Documents
• Historical Statistics/Data
• GIS Mapping
• Public Opinion
• City Directories
• Policy Literature, Working Papers, Think Tank Reports (Grey Literature)
• Technical Reports (Grey Literature)
• Country Information
• Corporate Annual Reports
• US Elections
• Travel Writing/Guidebooks
• Missionary Records
• Reference Sources
• Harvard Museums
• Boston-Area Repositories
• Citing Sources & Organizing Research
• Newsletter January 2011
• Newsletter June 2012
• Newsletter August 2012
• Newsletter December 2012
• Newsletter June 2013
• Newsletter August 2013
• Newsletter January 2014
• Newsletter June 2014
• Newsletter August 2014
• Newsletter January 2015
• Newsletter June 2015
• Newsletter August 2015
• Newsletter January 2016
• Newsletter June 2016
• Newsletter August 2016
• Newsletter January 2017
• Newsletter June 2017
• Newsletter August 2017
• Newsletter January 2018
• Newsletter June 2018
• Newsletter August 2018
• Newsletter August 2019
• Newsletter December 2019
• Newsletter March 2021
• Newsletter October 2021
• Newsletter June 2019
• Newsletter May 2022
• Newsletter February2023
• Newsletter October 2023
• February2024
• Exploring Special Collections at Harvard

This page lists resources for digitized historical primary sources. Resources containing books, archives/manuscripts and mixed collections are included. Databases for particular primary source types, newspapers, periodicals, personal writings, images, films, etc., are listed on their own pages in this guide. A list of primary sources types with links is given at Outline of Primary Sources for History . We have a list of digital collections, both Harvard subscription databases and free Web collections at Online Primary Source Collections for History . It is still in an early stage of development.

General resources are listed first, then the same categories of resources, where needed, are listed by region or language.

• General Full Text Searchable Digital Libraries  offer full text searches of books and periodicals.  Sometimes include archival/manuscript material, films, etc.
• Finding Primary Sources on the Open Web .  There is no one method for finding all digitized material.  Several methods are listed here - mainly item and collection-level searches
• Finding the Right Subscription Database . Subcollections, individual items (books, manuscripts, images), and full text in the hundreds of subscription (commercial) databases are generally not findable on open web searches, so it is difficult to know which databases may be useful. Methods of solving this problem are given here.

 HathiTrust Digital Library, Internet Archive, Google Book Search offer books and periodicals digitized from numerous libraries.  Each of these three digital libraries allows searching full text over their entire collections.

HathiTrust Digital Library  is a huge collection of digitized books and periodicals. Each full text item is linked to a standard library catalog record, thus providing good metadata and subject terms. Most items pre-1925 will be full text viewable.  After 1925, a much smaller number will be full text viewable.  You can search within non-full text viewable works and obtain the pages numbers where your search terms occur.   Most US, and some state, government documents will be full text viewable.

There is also a separate full text search for US government documents .

Advanced Full Text Search

In the first (Full Text) Advanced Full Text Search field, you can put terms for a full text search.  Phrases and proper names work best (exact phrase).  If you search two or more separate keywords, when you search within particular volumes, those pages containing all the keywords will sort first.

In the second search field, you can limit your full text search by:

• Title, searching the contents of a particular work, including periodical titles
• Author, searching the works of a particular author, including names of organizations and government entities.
• Subject, searching the Subject terms (same Subject terms as those used in HOLLIS) for a particular topic

Internet Archive  .

• Full text for a variety of digitized print materials and archived web pages (Wayback Machine), as well as manuscripts (a few), digitized microfilm, films, audio files, TV News, and more.  Many recent books are full text viewable if you set up a free account. You can use a Google password.
• Unlike Google and Hathitrust, IA usually offers multiple download options including e-readers.

Full Text Search Options. You can search  Internet Archive  for texts bearing a specified Subject term, Title, or Author (Creator). Shift from Search metadata to Search text contents.

• subject:Calcutta AND cholera [Use lower case for subject, title, creator]
• For a periodical: title:American Machinist AND "Spring breakage has been eliminated"
• creator:Parker, T. Jeffery AND "oosperm or unicellular embryo" [note: The correct form of the name must be used. Find this by trying out the name in Advanced Search: Creator. When you find the right name, shift from Search metadata to Search text contents ]

Internet Archive is organized into nested collections. Each collection can be searched full text. Within the whole Internet Archive collection, there are collections such as the Medical Heritage Library, the Biodiversity Heritage Library,  Periodicals, Magazine_Rack and numerous others. Within Periodicals, for example, there are collections for individual titles. Not all periodicals are included in collections, especially if there are less than 50 issues. Sometimes issues of a periodical occur outside of it’s main collection. In either case, you can full text search within a title using: title:"nautical research journal" AND China, selecting Search text contents. When specifying a collection, use small letters and eliminate spaces: collection:(medicalheritagelibrary)

Much of the Internet Archive content is organized into full text searchable Collections. Thus, if you search “Civil rights” you retrieve 104,660 items which are partially organized into 178 collections (see under Media Type in the left hand column). Some of the collections are topical (Kent State Shootings) or they include issues of a particular periodical or podcast. Collections are often nested. For example:

• Medical Officer of Health reports  (British and Colonial) within  The Medical Heritage Library
• Army Times 1940-2015  within  Periodicals

By no means are all periodical issues and other items included in collections. In these cases periodical titles can be full text searched using the title:American Machinist AND "Spring breakage has been eliminated" method.

Browse text collections    ---   Browse movie collections     Adjust Media Type to Collections. You can then limit by Subject.  There are 243 collections of commercials in Movies.

Periodicals in Internet Archive

Many are available full text in the  Internet Archive ,  including  numerous trade periodicals . Search: collection:(Periodicals) AND Railroads. Select Media Type: Collections

In Advanced search:

Any field: Your topic Collection is: Periodicals

You can search full text within a particular volume, over the whole Internet Archive, or within a particular Collection. 

• Periodicals https://archive.org/details/periodicals
• Serials in Microfilm https://archive.org/details/sim_microfilm

Omit colons (:) and other punctuation in titles

These searches yield individual issues and whole runs.  Isolate whole runs by choosing Collections under Media Type.

• Medical Heritage Library which is also separately searchable  and the  Biodiversity Heritage Library which is separately searchable
• Much South Asian material
• 28 million  documents and texts , including 4.6 million digitized books
• 6 million  television news programs  and  other videos
• 14 million audio items ( Audio Archive ), including  live concerts ,  vinyl recordings ,  audiobooks ,  radio shows , and  podcasts
• 3.5 million  images
• 580,000  games  and other software titles
• 475 billion web pages stored in the  Wayback Machine

In Advanced search you can search say Description: "South Asia", and at the top left of the results page choose Media type: Collection.  When on a Collection page, you can search within by metadata or full text

The Internet Archive is so large and various that it can be difficult to navigate.  These partial lists of contents are useful:

• Lists of Internet Archive's collections
• Lists of Internet Archive's collections: External Collections
• Additional Collections

Google Book Search offers full text of:

• Largely, pre-1924 books and periodicals scanned from libraries,
• Post-1924 books and periodicals digitized in libraries. Full text searchable and snippet views displayed
• "Previews" of books submitted by publishers. Some pages are hidden.  Some, but not all, of the hidden pages are searchable.

Internet History Sourcebooks Project

World Digital Library  offers primary source materials.

The Making of the Modern World offers full text searching of works on economics and business published from 1450-1914 from the Kress Collection of Business and Economics at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School and the Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature at the University of London Library. Includes material on commerce, finance, social conditions, politics, public health, trade and transport. A great deal of more recently acquired material in the Kress Collection is not included in The Making of the Modern World .

There are several sources for finding free, open access, books online.

Try HathiTrust , Internet Archive , and Google Books as described above.

Internet Archive  offers numerous in-copyright books for one-hour (renewable) loan.  Free registration needed.

WorldCat . Hit Open Content: Open Access on the results page.

The Online Books Page arranges electronic texts by Library of Congress call numbers and is searchable (but not full text searchable).  Includes books not in Google Books, HathiTrust, or Internet Archive. Has many other useful features.

The Open Library , although its books reside in the Internet Archive, includes many books not findable by searching the Internet Archive directly

OAPEN: Open Access Publishing in European Networks

OpenEdition - the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB). Good for non-US imprints

The Digital Public Library of America’s Open Bookshelf offers numerous open access books.

Check your local public library ebook collection. 

There is no one way to find digitized primary sources on the Internet. The following offers methods for finding online historical resources which are more focused than a simple Google search. Most find items within digital collections. A few search the full text.

In most one cannot effectively limit to archival/manuscript sources.  Specific searches usually work better than broad topical searches.  Searches for proper names often yield good results.

The Digital Public Library of America

The Digital Public Library of America offers textual, visual, and sound resources contributed by numerous libraries, archives, and museums.  Searches catalog records, not full text, and links to the items on the contributors' websites.  Contains many individual items, such as letters and photographs, from digital collections.

Advanced Google Searches

General Google searches may yield very many results, and it may take much sifting through the results in order to find relevant items. Using  Google Advanced Search  with specific search terms can help yield more focused results.​ Detailed instructions for searching Google Advanced Search .

Bielefeld Academic Search Engine

Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE) searches metadata and some full text, from over 2000 sources of academic open access documents.  About 60% of the documents indexed are available full text.  The metadata searched is provided by the source and tagging is often inexact.  This is a vast collection of documents and has much not available elsewhere. Use Browsing to narrow your search to subject area (e.g., Literature) or Document type (e.g., Manuscript, broadly construed).  Open Browsing and choose-Dewey Decimal (for Subject), choose major subject to see next finer level, twice.  After choosing View Records add a search term to the Subject Term or Document Type:

EROMM: European Register of Microform and Digital Masters searches its own database of records of printed and handwritten material in digital form or on microfilm from institutions worldwide and offers web search for such material.

WorldCat (the OCLC Union Catalog)

Numerous digitized collections of primary sources have records in  WorldCat .  These collections of primary sources are often swamped by ebooks on the same subject. There is no one perfect method for finding them, but the following may be tried for any topic.  Always find the proper  Subject terms for your topic  and search using those as well as any keywords.  Use Advanced search.  Detailed instructions for searching WorldCat .

OAISTER  is a subset of WorldCat for open access online academic material. It can be useful in separating digitized primary sources from the numerous ebooks in WolrldCat.  It includes digitized books and journal articles, open access publications, manuscript/archival material, photographic images, audio and visual files, data sets, and theses. It includes such a vast range of resources that digitized archival and other primary sources are lost in the abundant results if a broad topical term is used.  So it is best to use a narrow term or proper name. Thus "Act-Up" yields archival letters. It is possible to limit a search to Archival Material, but I have not found this to be useful.

To find databases available via Harvard Library by subject, go to HOLLIS Databases , scroll down to Best Databases for… and open History, or other topic.  Refine your results set on the right.  For example, for historical resources relating to women, go to Subject Category, open Show More, open Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.  Also look for research guides on your subject among the Harvard Library research guides (Open Guides by Subject).

Because there are so many subscription databases, and because each database often includes numerous subcollections, it is difficult to know which databases may contain the sources you want.  For example, Vietnam War and American Foreign Policy, 1960-1975 (ProQuest History Vault) includes U.S. State Department Office of the Executive Secretariat Crisis Files. Part 1, the Berlin Crisis, 1957-1963.  Detailed instructions for finding these subcollections .

The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections (Museum Computer Network)

68 Cultural, Historical and Scientific Collections you can Explore Online (Smithsonian)

Digital Artifacts and Images for Ethnography and Archaeology (University of Michigan)

HOLLIS Search for objects in Houghton (incomplete)

Many sources digitized by local public libraries, historical societies and other institutions may be found via the Digital Public Library of America , the state/regional portals , and worldwide, via the tools listed below .  But some will not be findable. For local sources one may visit the websites of nearby institutions.

Library Directories

• LibWeb State Libraries
• LibWeb Public Libraries

Library Resources outside the U.S. (Brown University) offers overviews of library resources worldwide

Archival Directories

Historical Society Directories

• Preservation Directory.com
• Society Hill Directories lists historical societies for the US, Canada, and Australia.  Very comprehensive but not recently updated.  Google society names for their web pages.

Harvard Digital Collections  offers item level access to digitized resources.

CURIOSity Digital Collections   offers collection level access to digitized resources.

Harvard Law School Library Digital Collections

More information in  Finding Harvard's Unique or Distinctive Primary Sources: Original and Digital

International

Asia, South

Asia, Southeast

• Australia and Pacific

Czech Republic

• France/French
• Netherlands

Russia/Eastern Europe

Switzerland

United Kingdom/English Language

• Indian Ocean Islands

Latin America/Caribbean

• Middle East/North Africa

United States

Endangered Archives Programme  offers digitized material (manuscripts, rare printed books, documents, newspapers, periodicals, photographs and sound recordings) (largely pre -mid-20th century) at risk of loss or decay in countries worldwide.  When looking fo.r material on a country, use Search all endangered archives. Do not rely on Related places or Project country (on the left).

Digital Library for International Research (DLIR) offers printed and manuscript material from numerous countries worldwide. Search/browse level: Collection, Item

Lists of Digital Collections

Other Libraries' Research Guides are often contains Lists of Digital Collections

In Google Advanced Search

• all these words: library [your topic keywords]
• any of these words: guides research resources
• List of country domain names .
• Digital collections: Rechtshistorie  offers valuable lists of  national digital libraries  and of  digitized archival material by country .

BlackPast offers resources on the history of African America and people of African ancestry worldwide.

• Bodleian History Faculty Library Bookmarks
• Digital Library Directory is a searchable collection of links to digital collections.
• ECHO: Cultural Heritage Online
• PSM-Data: Geschichte is a collection of primary (P) and secondary (S) sources, many in English.
• Internet History Sourcebooks  is a collection of digital primary source documents, largely in English.
• Internet Sites with Primary Sources for History (BGSU)
• History (University of Washington)  The Primary Sources pages of the History guides list numerous primary source collections
• Guide to Online Primary Sources (UC San Diego)
• Online Books Page Archives and Indexes
• Voice of the Shuttle: History . This is the history page of a huge collection of links to humanities (broadly conceived) resources,
• World History: Primary Source Collections Online
• WWW Virtual Library

Periodicals and Newspapers

Sources for Newspapers: Guide to Newspapers and Newspaper Indexes

Union List of Digitized Jewish Historic Newspapers, Periodicals and e-Journals

African Activist Archive  (1950s-1990s) includes: pamphlets, newsletters, leaflets, buttons, posters, photographs, and audio/video recordings relating to social justice activism in supporting Africans.  Offers an international directory of non-digitized collections in repositories worldwide.

African Online Digital Library   (AODL) (Michigan State Univ) offers photographs, videos, archival documents, maps, interviews and oral histories in numerous African languages.

Aluka Digital Library  images and full text concerning:  World Heritage Sites: Africa  and  Struggles for Freedom in Southern Africa .

Digital Innovation South Africa is a digital library on the socio-political history of South Africa.

The  Liberated Africans Project  contains information on Africans liberated by international efforts, 1808-1896, to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Includes material in the British National Archives and the Sierra Leone National Archives

OurLagosHistory.com  offers pamphlets, newspaper articles and other material on the history of Lagos.

Akkasah Photographic Archive  at NYU Abu Dhabi offers over 9000 photographs of the Middle East and North Africa 

Africana Library Catalogs & Archives   (Columbia)

African Studies Internet Resources  (Columbia) 

Primary Source Collections Online: Africa

History: Africa: Primary Sources (Univ. of Wisc.)

The AsiaPortal e-resources collection  "focuses primarily on resources for  studies of modern and contemporary Asia defined as Central Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Oceania. There are databases, information rich websites, e-books and journals. Most resources are freely available, but some are licensed only for use by students and staff at Nordic NIAS Council"

Japan Search digital archive search tool

Lahore University of Management Sciences Digital Library

National Digital Library of India

University of Tubingen Hermann Gundert Portal  (Indian Language Printed Material and Manuscript Collections)

University of Wisconsin Bhopal Disaster Archive

National Archives of India Digital Collections

Gokhale Library (Maharashtra, India) Printed Reports

Asiatic Society of Mumbai Digital Collections

West Bengal Public Library Network

South Asia Open Archive  extensive archive of South Asian materials including several collections in the English language

South Asian Culture: South Asian Cultural Archives and Resources for Study Resources

Short Guide to Online Archives for Students (Archives of Economic Life in South and Southeast Asia)

Harvard University Stuart Cary Welch Islamic and South Asian Photograph Collection

Cornell South East Asia Collections

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Portal (Malayalam Language)

National Archives of Singapore Digital Collections

Neliti: Indonesia's Research Repository offers 300,000 books, datasets and journal articles from Southeast Asia.

Shiju Alex Kerala History Archive  (mainly consisting of printed texts in Malayalam but also including several English language Missionary papers)

Southeast Asia Digital Library

Australia/Pacific

Trove: Online Research Portal

Pacific Digital Library

digitalpasifik.org offers digitized records of Pacific cultural heritage, held worldwide, so that people in and of Pacific can connect with their stories.

Pacific digital resources (National Library of Australia)

History: Australia, New Zealand & Oceania: Primary Sources (U. Washington)

Canadian National Digital Heritage Index

The Glenbow Archives  online collections (1860s-1990s) offers archival records relating to Calgary, southern Alberta and Western Canada.  Special focus:  indigenous history, Mounted Police, pioneer life, ranching and agriculture, the petroleum industry, politics (especially the farmers movement), labour and unions, women, the arts (especially theatre), and business.

PORT (University of London) offers descriptions of European libraries, archives, and cultural institutions.

CERL Resources (Consortium of European Research Libraries)

      Includes link to Online Manuscripts Databases and Projects

General digital libraries

Early European Books  offers full text of books published on the Continent, beginnings to 1701. Not full text searchable.  Overview of contents .

Central and Eastern European Online Library   is an online archive which provides access to full text PDF articles from 441 humanities and social science journals and re-digitized documents pertaining to Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European topics.

Virtual Library Eastern Europe  (ViFaOst)

Digital Scriptorium is an image database of medieval and renaissance manuscripts from many American institutions

TEMPO: Early Modern Pamphlets Online (1486-1853) currently includes about 47,000 pamphlets largely in Dutch, German and Latin.

Post-Reformation Digital Library (PRDL) offers digitized works Reformation and Post-Reformation/Early Modern theology and philosophy. “Late medieval and patristic works printed and referenced in the early modern era are also included”.

Tools for Finding Digitized Material

Europeana: Cultural collections of Europe  is the largest European search engine for digitized books, images, manuscripts, etc. Searches catalogs records of material contributed by numerous repositories.  Not full text searchable; links to full text.  Similar to the Digital Library of America.  Search tips .

European Navigator documents the development of a united Europe from 1945 on.

Lists of Digital Libraries and Collections

European History Primary Sources  is an index of scholarly websites providing access to primary sources. Offers collection level search.

EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History: Selected Transcriptions, Facsimiles and Translations . List of digitized documents by country

History: Europe: Primary Sources (Berkeley)

Medieval Digital Resources (Medieval Academy of America)

MICHAEL: Multilingual Inventory of Cultural Heritage in Europe  searches digital collections at the collection rather than the item level from European museums, archives and libraries.  Contains material not in Base, Europeana or EROMM

Open Access in Central and Eastern Europe  contains scientific and secondary source open access as well as historical primary sources.

Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia: A Research Guide: Digital Libraries and Web Resources  (Princeton)

Selected Internet Resources for History  (Western Europe)

WessWeb  (Western European Studies Section, Association of College and Research Libraries)

Judaica Europeana: a network of museums, libraries and archives

Sources for periodicals: Finding Articles in General and Popular Periodicals (North America and Western Europe)

Kulturpool  – a portal for cultural institutions in Austria with a search interface for their digital collections

Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Digital Reading Room

Bildarchiv Austria : Historic photographs

Kramerius - Digital Library of Czech Books and Periodicals . 19th - early 20th centuries.

Czech web archive  

France/Francophone

ARTFL Project (American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language)

Classiques Garnier Numérique  offers the Bibliographie de la littérature française, together with collections of French language primary texts and reference works, including French and francophone literature (Europe, Africa, Indian Ocean, Americas, Asia) and dictionaries and grammars from the 9th to the 20th century.

Gallica  includes the full-text for more than 100,000 volumes and 300,000 images covering the Middle Ages to the beginning of the twentieth century, with an emphasis on nineteenth-century material. Included are dictionaries and encyclopedias, journals, manuscripts, recordings and images.

French and Francophone Digital Humanities Projects  (ACRL)

History: Europe: France (Berkeley)

Paris: Bibliotheques patrimoniales . Catalog of Paris libraries with links to digitized material.

Réseau francophone numérique contains digitized historical material from French-speaking countries worldwide.

Patrimoine numérique. Catalogue des collections  numérisées

Bibliothèque Francophone Numérique .  Scroll down for Découvrez les Collections par Zones Géographiques.

Digital Humanities Database . A searchable database of French and Francophone Studies digital projects. Collection/project level search.

Clio Guide. Ein Handbuch zu digitalen Ressourcen für die Geschichtswissenschaften

Digital Libraries

Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek  offers textual and visual resources contributed by numerous libraries, archives, and museums.  Searches catalog records, not full text, and links to the items on the contributors' websites.  Contains many individual items, such as letters and photographs, from digital collections.

Deutsches Textarchiv  (1650-1900) includes texts from numerous subject areas.  Description .

Göttinger Digitalisierungs-Zentrum  hosts a large collection of mainly, but not exclusively, German books in several subject areas.

Zentrales Verzeichnis Digitalisierter Drucke  (ZVDD) is the German national portal for digitized scholarly imprints. Searches easily limited by century of publication.

Bayerische Landesbibliothek Online

Münchener Digitalisierungszentrum : Open-access collection of digitized books and other content held by the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (München).

DocumentArchiv.de: Historischen Dokumenten- und Quellensammlung zur deutschen Geschichte ab 1800 (1800- ) is a large collection of full text German primary documents.

Datenbank Schrift und Bild 1900-1960 offers German language texts and photographs

Digitised Fonds : Direct access to the Federal Archives' files available online

German Studies: Digital Collections (ACRL)

The German Studies Collaboratory

Germanistik im Netz : Catalog search

Kulturerbe Digital   offers links to search engines for German digitized material, together with a searchable and browsable list of digitization projects.

Clio-online: Fachportal für die Geschichtswissenschaften  (Largely German)

Inventory of Digital Projects in German Studies or From German-Speaking Countries .  History page (Link dead in site)

Digitale Sammlungen: Liste digitaler Sammlungen mit deutschsprachigen gemeinfreien Büchern

Academy of Athens Digital Repository  (for manuscripts) and  Digital Library  (for the Academy's works and for their rare books collection)

Anemi - Digital Library of Modern Greek Studies

Hungarian Electronic Library . 

Digital Repository of Ireland

alphabetica . "Explore the cultural heritage preserved in Italian libraries"

Internet Culturale: cataloghi e collezioni digitali delle biblioteche Italiane/Biblioteca Digitale Italiana

Storia Digitale: Contenuti Online per la Storia

The Netherlands

History: Europe: Netherlands & Low Countries (Berkeley)

Dutch National Library offers digitized works

Early Dutch Books Online (1781-1800) contains 10,000 books from the Dutch-speaking region.

Historici.nl (-2000) contains full text of numerous secondary and primary books and periodicals in Dutch history

Polona: Poland  Virtual archive

National Digital Library Polona . Middle Ages - mid-20th century.

Polish digital libraries federation offers online collections of Polish cultural and scientific institutions.

University Library in Poznan: Digital Libraries

Polish History and Culture

National Digital Library (Russia)

FEB-web - Fundamental Digital Library of Russian Literature . Middle Ages to present.

Digital Resources for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies describes online resources available via Harvard digital platforms or produced and freely accessible outside the Harvard system --Note the Open Access link on the Archives page. At Please find our list of open access resources for research in Soviet History there is a large list of resources.

Slavic, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies: Large eBook & Digital collections (U of Chicago)

International and Area Studies Library (Univ. of Illinois)

Slavic Studies: Resources for the study of Slavic cultures, literatures, and languages.

Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia: A Research Guide: Digital Libraries and Web Resources (Princeton)

History: Europe: Russia (Berkeley)

History: Europe: Other Eastern Europe (Berkeley)

Digital National Library of Serbia

Digital Library of Slovenia

Biblioteca Digital Hispánica

Biblioteca Virtual del Patrimonio Bibliográfico  offers digitized manuscripts and early printed books from Spanish libraries and archives.

Digital Memory of Instituto Cervantes

Hispana: directorio y recolector de recursos digitales  is a central index of over 4 million digital objects from 195 repositories and 326 different projects throughout Spain.

ALVIN: Platform for digital collections and digitized cultural heritage

E-Codices, Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland

e-rara.ch, the platform for digitized rare books from Swiss libraries: https://www.e-rara.ch

Searching Early English Books Online (EEBO), Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) and Early American Imprints. Since spelling in early books is variable and the long s (which looks like an f) is often used, it is important to try variant spellings and the wild card feature. ECCO offers fuzzy searching in Advanced Search

Both Early English Books Online (EEBO) and Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) contain full text of most books published 1475-1800 in Great Britain and North America and books published in English anywhere.

Early English Books Online  (EEBO) offers full text for works, including much ephemera and many periodicals, dated 1475-1700. Uses Library of Congress Subject Headings.

EEBO uses page images and OCR text. Although searchable by words and phrases, there are character recognition errors and full Boolean searching is not possible.  Early English Books Online Text Creation  Partnership  has input over 25,000 works and offers corrected text and full Boolean and other search capabilities for this subset of EEBO. Periodicals included in EEBO include corantos, newsbooks and periodicals included in the  Thomason Tracts .  Periodicals Search guide . Search Guide: Early English Books Online  (EEBO)

Eighteenth Century Collections Online  (ECCO) offers full text for English language works dated 1700-1800. Uses Library of Congress Subject Headings. Searchable by words and phrases based on the OCR text. Many 18th century American imprints are not included in ECCO because they are available in Early American Imprints (EAI) (next).

Both EEBO and ECCO are based on the  English Short Title Catalog  (ESTC) which has over 470,000 catalog (no full text) entries listing books, periodicals, newspapers and some ephemera printed before 1801. Works published in Britain, Ireland, British colonies, and the US are included, together with items printed elsewhere which contain significant text in English, Welsh, Irish or Gaelic. Books falsely claiming London publication are included. Items omitted from ECCO because they are available in EAI are represented in the ESTC. Reprints (reissues of original works) are not usually included in ECCO; they are fully represented in the ESTC.

NINES (Networked Infrastructure for Nineteenth-Century Electronic Scholarship)  (1770-1920) searches (full text search available) selected digital scholarship and primary source databases related to the British and American long 19th century. Where fee-based material is found, you will have to go through Harvard Library E-Resources; no automatic link to Harvard resources is available.

British History Online  (11th-19th cent.) offers printed primary and secondary sources for the history of the British Isles. These resources cover ecclesiastical and religious history, intellectual and cultural history, local history, urban development, economic history, parliamentary history, and administrative and legal matters.

• Archives Hub : British digital collections
• Online Resources  (Institute of Historical Research)
• Research guides: Online collections  (UK National Archives)

Culture Grid is a UK national aggregator for museum collections information.  Culture Grid contributes records to Europeana .

Connected Histories: British History Sources, 1500-1900  provides federated searching for several databases of British primary historical sources, including the primary source content of  British History Online  for 1500-1900.

Manuscripts Online  (1000 to 1500) searches a variety of online resources on manuscript and early printed culture in Britain. Includes literary manuscripts, historical documents and early printed books on websites of libraries, archives, universities and publishers. Some of the resources searched are only accessible via subscription. These resources allow free snippet results but do not provide full access. Project blog .

Connected Histories and Manuscripts Online are not integrated into the Try Harvard Library system. When you find something in a licensed/subscription database only a snippet view will display, and you will need to go to the same resource in the Harvard system (if we have it) and redo the search.

Connected Histories and Manuscripts Online (above) include both free and subscription databases.

British Library Images Online

Images of Empire  (British Empire & Commonwealth Museum)

John Johnson Collection: an archive of printed ephemera (18th-20th centuries). Collection, housed in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, documents everyday life in Britain.

Science & Society Picture Library offers over 50,000 images from the Science Museum (London), the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television and the National Railway Museum.

Visual Arts Data Service  (VADS) offers images of art, design, and posters.

Indian Ocean

Bibliothéque numérique contains a collection of digitized Mauritian rare books, journals, annual reports and government documents.

Biblioteca Digital del Patrimonio Iberoamericano Contains manuscripts, sound recordings, newspapers, maps, drawings, and other primary source materials from the national libraries of Latin American countries,

Caribbean Memory Project

Catálogo Colectivo de Impresos Latinoamericanos (1539-1850) offers a union catalog of Spanish/Portuguese letterpress material printed in Latin America, Caribbean, United States and Philippines.

Digital Library of the Caribbean Digitized archival materials originating in the Caribbean and also Latin American beyond the Caribbean.  Collections, subjects covered, and types of materials included .

Early Caribbean Digital Archive

Gale World Scholar Latin America & the Caribbean Archive includes primary source documents, academic journals and news feeds, reference sources, maps, statistics, audio and video

Manioc: Bibliothèque numérique Caraïbe, Amazonie, Plateau des Guyanes

Sabin Americana Digital Archive  (1500-1926) searchable full text of European writings on the Americas.  Description .  On Joseph Sabin .

Mexico Digital Library

Latin American & Caribbean Digital Primary Sources (Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials) A listing of freely available digitized collections of various types of primary source materials from many Latin American countries.

History: Latin America: Primary Sources  (University of Washington guide)

History: Latin America (Berkeley)

Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC) Guide to Latin American material on the Web, with links to primary sources.

Middle East

Discovering the Treasures of the National Library (Israel)

Qatar Digital Library

Shamela Free Digital Collection of Arabic Books

Waqfeya Arabic books with a focus on Islamic Religious Sciences

Duke University Libraries, Ottoman-Turkish Literature

IRCICA FARABİ digital library (Turkey)

American University in Cairo Digital Collections

University of Hamburg, Islamic Printed Page project

Hebrew Books

Digital Library of the Middle East

Arabian Gulf Digital Archive  (1820-2004)

Akkasah – Digitised Photographs from the Middle East and North Africa

American Centre for Oriental Resources Library Photo Archive

Arab Image Foundation Archive  (Non Profit archive of Middle Eastern images based in Beirut) 

ArchNet archive of Middle Eastern Built Environments , curated by the Aga Khan Documentation Centre at MIT

Das Bild des Orients . Searchable in German and English

Levantine Heritage Foundation

Middle East Photograph Archive  (University of Chicago)

Palestine Poster Project Archives

Saudi Aramco World Digital Archive  (1964- ) Aramco World magazine, published/unpublished images

Field Guide to Islamic Law Online Archives & Library Collections

Manuscripts | Digital Resources and Projects in Islamic Studies

Online Archives, Digitized Collections and Resources for Middle East, North African, and Islamic(ate) Studies (Hazine)

Orient-Institut Istanbul: Databases, portals, and virtual libraries

Access to Middle East and Islamic Resources  (AMIR). Blog with links to numerous online resources on Teaching and Learning in this region

Middle East & Islamic Studies Collection Digital Collections

The Digital Public Library of America  offers textual, visual, and sound resources contributed by numerous libraries, archives, and museums.  Searches catalog records, not full text, and links to the items on the contributors' websites.  Contains many individual items, such as letters and photographs, from digital collections.

Digital Libraries by State

These websites list hundreds of local, state, and regional resources. Each is different and some are better designed than others.  Very useful when your topic has a regional focus.

• State Archives and Collaborative (NARA)
• 250+ Killer Digital Libraries and Archives
• 71 Digital Portals to State History

American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series 1, 1760-1900

Early American Imprints, Series 1 (1639-1800)  and  Early American Imprints, Series 2 (1801-1819)  are based on the microform collection of books, pamphlets and broadsides issued in America recorded in Charles Evans' American Bibliography and Roger P. Bristol's Supplement to Charles Evans' American Bibliography, and in American Bibliography: A Preliminary Checklist for 1801-1819 by Ralph Shaw and Richard Shoemaker.

For the colonial era, overlaps with Early English Books Online and Eighteenth Century Collections Online .

Sabin Americana Digital Archive  (1500-1926) searchable full text of writings on the Americas, including many European works.  Description .  On Joseph Sabin .

NINES (Networked Infrastructure for Nineteenth-Century Electronic Scholarship)  (1770-1920) searches (full text search available) selected digital scholarship and primary source databases related to the British and American long 19th century. Where fee-based material is found, you will have to go through Harvard Library E-Resources; no automatic link to Harvard resources is available.

American Pamphlets, Series 1, 1820-1922  offers pamphlets held at the New York Historical Society.

Nineteenth Century in Print: The Making of America in Books and Periodicals

American Memory  (Library of Congress)

National Archives (US) Catalog  - Can be limited to archival materials online

Microfilm Publications and Original Records Digitized by Our Digitization Partners :  Ancestry ,  Fold3 ,  FamilySearch . National Archives.

Electronic Reading Rooms of US government departments are listed on the FOIA site . Scroll down to View the full list of agencies and choose your agency. Under Select an Office, choose the office of the Secretary or equivalent central office.

AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American History: Online documents arranged by year

Umbra Search African American History

Discovering American Women's History Online . Offers collection level search.  Another version .

MEAD: The Magazine of Early American Datasets is an online repository of datasets on early North America. Datasets are in original format and as comma-separated-value files (.csv). Each dataset accompanied by codebook.

U.S. History: Primary Source Collections Online  (SHSU)

Primary Sources for United States History  (RUSA)

Images of America: a history of American life in images and texts  is the online version of thousands of books in the Arcadia US local history series. The histories Includes photographs from archives, historical societies and private collections. Images and text are fully searchable. Searchable by location, person, event, date, ethic group and organization. Search HOLLIS+ HOLLIS tab Advanced search as Series (exact phrase) Images of America for the print books.

American Landscape and Architectural Design, 1850-1920 contains about 2,800 lantern slide views of American buildings and landscapes.

Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920  (Library of Congress) photograph collection includes over 25,000 items, mostly of the eastern U.S., with subject index and keyword searchable.

History of the American West (1860-1920) offers over 30,000 photographs from the Denver Public Library.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog

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• Next: Finding Online Sources: Detailed Instructions >>
• Last Updated: Sep 15, 2024 3:19 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/history

Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

History Subject Resource Guide

• Let's Get Started
• Search Tips
• Find Background Information
• Find Articles
• Primary Resources
• Suggested Primary Source Websites
• Evaluating primary and secondary sources
• Find Websites
• Evaluate Your Sources
• Cite Your Sources
• Additional History Resource Guides
• Artificial Intelligence in the Library

Evaluationg non-text based primary sources

When evaluating primary sources such as works of art or artifacts, literature, film, photographs, cartoons, and sound recordings, consider the following:

• When and where was the item created?
• Who created it?
• Why was it created?
• Is it part of a larger artistic movement?
• When and where was it first displayed or shown?
• How did contemporaries respond to it?
• What is its message?

Evaluating Evidence: A Conversation with Professor Joanne B. Freeman

Evaluating primary sources

Historians use primary sources as evidence to support their historical arguments. They are aware that primary sources often reflect the interests and concerns of their creator or author so must be critically examined and evaluated.  When using primary sources, see if you can determine:  

• author or creator?
• date of publication (how close to the actual event)?
• intended audience?
• purpose of the source (to present facts, or point of view)?
• does it contain unspoken assumptions?
• anything about the author that may influence the validity or reliability of the source?
• any biases?
• how this source compares with others from the same period (are there inconsistencies or contradictions)?
• if the original source was commissioned or funded by anyone with a particular viewpoint?

You may not be able to answer all these questions, but hopefully you can find enough to help you decide how reliable the source is and how you will use it.

Evaluating secondary sources

Secondary sources allow us to learn how other historians have interpreted primary sources in order to understand an event.  It is equally important to evaluate the reliability and validity of secondary sources as much as the primary.  Points to consider:

• The author (can you determine his/her academic credentials?)
• Publication date (when was it written)?  Consider the political, cultural and social context in which the source was written.
• Publisher (scholarly or academic press, or popular)?
• Intended audience?
• What sources does the author use as evidence (primary or secondary)? 
• Do you know of any primary sources the author did not consider?
• Does the author interpret the primary sources persuasively?
• Does the author acknowledge other points of view?
• Check the bibliography or notes to see if other important works are referenced.

As with primary sources, you may not be able to ascertain all of the above, but you should be able to determine enough about the source in order to determine its usefulness.

• << Previous: Suggested Primary Source Websites
• Next: Find Media >>
• Last Updated: Sep 12, 2024 1:03 PM
• URL: https://libguides.hofstra.edu/History

This site is compliant with the W3C-WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY Hempstead, NY 11549-1000 (516) 463-6600 © 2000-2009 Hofstra University A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing Historical Research [without getting hysterical!] In addition to being a scholarly investigation, research is a social activity intended to create new knowledge. Historical research is your informed response to the questions that you ask while examining the record of human experience. These questions may concern such elements as looking at an event or topic, examining events that lead to the event in question, social influences, key players, and other contextual information. This step-by-step guide progresses from an introduction to historical resources to information about how to identify a topic, craft a thesis and develop a research paper. Table of contents: The Range and Richness of Historical Sources Secondary Sources Primary Sources Historical Analysis What is it? Who, When, Where, What and Why: The Five "W"s Topic, Thesis, Sources Definition of Terms Choose a Topic Craft a Thesis Evaluate Thesis and Sources A Variety of Information Sources Take Efficient Notes Note Cards Thinking, Organizing, Researching Parenthetical Documentation Prepare a Works Cited Page Drafting, Revising, Rewriting, Rethinking For Further Reading: Works Cited Additional Links So you want to study history?! Tons of help and links Slatta Home Page Use the Writing and other links on the lefhand menu I. The Range and Richness of Historical Sources Back to Top Every period leaves traces, what historians call "sources" or evidence. Some are more credible or carry more weight than others; judging the differences is a vital skill developed by good historians. Sources vary in perspective, so knowing who created the information you are examining is vital. Anonymous doesn't make for a very compelling source. For example, an FBI report on the antiwar movement, prepared for U.S. President Richard Nixon, probably contained secrets that at the time were thought to have affected national security. It would not be usual, however, for a journalist's article about a campus riot, featured in a local newspaper, to leak top secret information. Which source would you read? It depends on your research topic. If you're studying how government officials portrayed student activists, you'll want to read the FBI report and many more documents from other government agencies such as the CIA and the National Security Council. If you're investigating contemporary opinion of pro-war and anti-war activists, local newspaper accounts provide a rich resource. You'd want to read a variety of newspapers to ensure you're covering a wide range of opinions (rural/urban, left/right, North/South, Soldier/Draft-dodger, etc). Historians classify sources into two major categories: primary and secondary sources. Secondary Sources Back to Top Definition: Secondary sources are created by someone who was either not present when the event occurred or removed from it in time. We use secondary sources for overview information, to familiarize ourselves with a topic, and compare that topic with other events in history. In refining a research topic, we often begin with secondary sources. This helps us identify gaps or conflicts in the existing scholarly literature that might prove promsing topics. Types: History books, encyclopedias, historical dictionaries, and academic (scholarly) articles are secondary sources. To help you determine the status of a given secondary source, see How to identify and nagivate scholarly literature . Examples: Historian Marilyn Young's (NYU) book about the Vietnam War is a secondary source. She did not participate in the war. Her study is not based on her personal experience but on the evidence she culled from a variety of sources she found in the United States and Vietnam. Primary Sources Back to Top Definition: Primary sources emanate from individuals or groups who participated in or witnessed an event and recorded that event during or immediately after the event. They include speeches, memoirs, diaries, letters, telegrams, emails, proclamations, government documents, and much more. Examples: A student activist during the war writing about protest activities has created a memoir. This would be a primary source because the information is based on her own involvement in the events she describes. Similarly, an antiwar speech is a primary source. So is the arrest record of student protesters. A newspaper editorial or article, reporting on a student demonstration is also a primary source. II. Historical Analysis What is it? Back to Top No matter what you read, whether it's a primary source or a secondary source, you want to know who authored the source (a trusted scholar? A controversial historian? A propagandist? A famous person? An ordinary individual?). "Author" refers to anyone who created information in any medium (film, sound, or text). You also need to know when it was written and the kind of audience the author intend to reach. You should also consider what you bring to the evidence that you examine. Are you inductively following a path of evidence, developing your interpretation based on the sources? Do you have an ax to grind? Did you begin your research deductively, with your mind made up before even seeing the evidence. Historians need to avoid the latter and emulate the former. To read more about the distinction, examine the difference between Intellectual Inquirers and Partisan Ideologues . In the study of history, perspective is everything. A letter written by a twenty- year old Vietnam War protestor will differ greatly from a letter written by a scholar of protest movements. Although the sentiment might be the same, the perspective and influences of these two authors will be worlds apart. Practicing the " 5 Ws " will avoid the confusion of the authority trap. Who, When, Where, What and Why: The Five "W"s Back to Top Historians accumulate evidence (information, including facts, stories, interpretations, opinions, statements, reports, etc.) from a variety of sources (primary and secondary). They must also verify that certain key pieces of information are corroborated by a number of people and sources ("the predonderance of evidence"). The historian poses the " 5 Ws " to every piece of information he examines: Who is the historical actor? When did the event take place? Where did it occur? What did it entail and why did it happen the way it did? The " 5 Ws " can also be used to evaluate a primary source. Who authored the work? When was it created? Where was it created, published, and disseminated? Why was it written (the intended audience), and what is the document about (what points is the author making)? If you know the answers to these five questions, you can analyze any document, and any primary source. The historian doesn't look for the truth, since this presumes there is only one true story. The historian tries to understand a number of competing viewpoints to form his or her own interpretation-- what constitutes the best explanation of what happened and why. By using as wide a range of primary source documents and secondary sources as possible, you will add depth and richness to your historical analysis. The more exposure you, the researcher, have to a number of different sources and differing view points, the more you have a balanced and complete view about a topic in history. This view will spark more questions and ultimately lead you into the quest to unravel more clues about your topic. You are ready to start assembling information for your research paper. III. Topic, Thesis, Sources Definition of Terms Back to Top Because your purpose is to create new knowledge while recognizing those scholars whose existing work has helped you in this pursuit, you are honor bound never to commit the following academic sins: Plagiarism: Literally "kidnapping," involving the use of someone else's words as if they were your own (Gibaldi 6). To avoid plagiarism you must document direct quotations, paraphrases, and original ideas not your own. Recycling: Rehashing material you already know thoroughly or, without your professor's permission, submitting a paper that you have completed for another course. Premature cognitive commitment: Academic jargon for deciding on a thesis too soon and then seeking information to serve that thesis rather than embarking on a genuine search for new knowledge. Choose a Topic Back to Top "Do not hunt for subjects, let them choose you, not you them." --Samuel Butler Choosing a topic is the first step in the pursuit of a thesis. Below is a logical progression from topic to thesis: Close reading of the primary text, aided by secondary sources Growing awareness of interesting qualities within the primary text Choosing a topic for research Asking productive questions that help explore and evaluate a topic Creating a research hypothesis Revising and refining a hypothesis to form a working thesis First, and most important, identify what qualities in the primary or secondary source pique your imagination and curiosity and send you on a search for answers. Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive levels provides a description of productive questions asked by critical thinkers. While the lower levels (knowledge, comprehension) are necessary to a good history essay, aspire to the upper three levels (analysis, synthesis, evaluation). Skimming reference works such as encyclopedias, books, critical essays and periodical articles can help you choose a topic that evolves into a hypothesis, which in turn may lead to a thesis. One approach to skimming involves reading the first paragraph of a secondary source to locate and evaluate the author's thesis. Then for a general idea of the work's organization and major ideas read the first and last sentence of each paragraph. Read the conclusion carefully, as it usually presents a summary (Barnet and Bedau 19). Craft a Thesis Back to Top Very often a chosen topic is too broad for focused research. You must revise it until you have a working hypothesis, that is, a statement of an idea or an approach with respect to the source that could form the basis for your thesis. Remember to not commit too soon to any one hypothesis. Use it as a divining rod or a first step that will take you to new information that may inspire you to revise your hypothesis. Be flexible. Give yourself time to explore possibilities. The hypothesis you create will mature and shift as you write and rewrite your paper. New questions will send you back to old and on to new material. Remember, this is the nature of research--it is more a spiraling or iterative activity than a linear one. Test your working hypothesis to be sure it is: broad enough to promise a variety of resources. narrow enough for you to research in depth. original enough to interest you and your readers. worthwhile enough to offer information and insights of substance "do-able"--sources are available to complete the research. Now it is time to craft your thesis, your revised and refined hypothesis. A thesis is a declarative sentence that: focuses on one well-defined idea makes an arguable assertion; it is capable of being supported prepares your readers for the body of your paper and foreshadows the conclusion. Evaluate Thesis and Sources Back to Top Like your hypothesis, your thesis is not carved in stone. You are in charge. If necessary, revise it during the research process. As you research, continue to evaluate both your thesis for practicality, originality, and promise as a search tool, and secondary sources for relevance and scholarliness. The following are questions to ask during the research process: Are there many journal articles and entire books devoted to the thesis, suggesting that the subject has been covered so thoroughly that there may be nothing new to say? Does the thesis lead to stimulating, new insights? Are appropriate sources available? Is there a variety of sources available so that the bibliography or works cited page will reflect different kinds of sources? Which sources are too broad for my thesis? Which resources are too narrow? Who is the author of the secondary source? Does the critic's background suggest that he/she is qualified? After crafting a thesis, consider one of the following two approaches to writing a research paper: Excited about your thesis and eager to begin? Return to the primary or secondary source to find support for your thesis. Organize ideas and begin writing your first draft. After writing the first draft, have it reviewed by your peers and your instructor. Ponder their suggestions and return to the sources to answer still-open questions. Document facts and opinions from secondary sources. Remember, secondary sources can never substitute for primary sources. Confused about where to start? Use your thesis to guide you to primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources can help you clarify your position and find a direction for your paper. Keep a working bibliography. You may not use all the sources you record, but you cannot be sure which ones you will eventually discard. Create a working outline as you research. This outline will, of course, change as you delve more deeply into your subject. A Variety of Information Sources Back to Top "A mind that is stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimension." --Oliver Wendell Holmes Your thesis and your working outline are the primary compasses that will help you navigate the variety of sources available. In "Introduction to the Library" (5-6) the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers suggests you become familiar with the library you will be using by: taking a tour or enrolling for a brief introductory lecture referring to the library's publications describing its resources introducing yourself and your project to the reference librarian The MLA Handbook also lists guides for the use of libraries (5), including: Jean Key Gates, Guide to the Use of Libraries and Information Sources (7th ed., New York: McGraw, 1994). Thomas Mann, A Guide to Library Research Methods (New York: Oxford UP, 1987). Online Central Catalog Most libraries have their holdings listed on a computer. The online catalog may offer Internet sites, Web pages and databases that relate to the university's curriculum. It may also include academic journals and online reference books. Below are three search techniques commonly used online: Index Search: Although online catalogs may differ slightly from library to library, the most common listings are by: Subject Search: Enter the author's name for books and article written about the author. Author Search: Enter an author's name for works written by the author, including collections of essays the author may have written about his/her own works. Title Search: Enter a title for the screen to list all the books the library carries with that title. Key Word Search/Full-text Search: A one-word search, e.g., 'Kennedy,' will produce an overwhelming number of sources, as it will call up any entry that includes the name 'Kennedy.' To focus more narrowly on your subject, add one or more key words, e.g., "John Kennedy, Peace Corps." Use precise key words. Boolean Search: Boolean Search techniques use words such as "and," "or," and "not," which clarify the relationship between key words, thus narrowing the search. Take Efficient Notes Back to Top Keeping complete and accurate bibliography and note cards during the research process is a time (and sanity) saving practice. If you have ever needed a book or pages within a book, only to discover that an earlier researcher has failed to return it or torn pages from your source, you understand the need to take good notes. Every researcher has a favorite method for taking notes. Here are some suggestions-- customize one of them for your own use. Bibliography cards There may be far more books and articles listed than you have time to read, so be selective when choosing a reference. Take information from works that clearly relate to your thesis, remembering that you may not use them all. Use a smaller or a different color card from the one used for taking notes. Write a bibliography card for every source. Number the bibliography cards. On the note cards, use the number rather than the author's name and the title. It's faster. Another method for recording a working bibliography, of course, is to create your own database. Adding, removing, and alphabetizing titles is a simple process. Be sure to save often and to create a back-up file. A bibliography card should include all the information a reader needs to locate that particular source for further study. Most of the information required for a book entry (Gibaldi 112): Author's name Title of a part of the book [preface, chapter titles, etc.] Title of the book Name of the editor, translator, or compiler Edition used Number(s) of the volume(s) used Name of the series Place of publication, name of the publisher, and date of publication Page numbers Supplementary bibliographic information and annotations Most of the information required for an article in a periodical (Gibaldi 141): Author's name Title of the article Name of the periodical Series number or name (if relevant) Volume number (for a scholarly journal) Issue number (if needed) Date of publication Page numbers Supplementary information For information on how to cite other sources refer to your So you want to study history page . Note Cards Back to Top Take notes in ink on either uniform note cards (3x5, 4x6, etc.) or uniform slips of paper. Devote each note card to a single topic identified at the top. Write only on one side. Later, you may want to use the back to add notes or personal observations. Include a topical heading for each card. Include the number of the page(s) where you found the information. You will want the page number(s) later for documentation, and you may also want page number(s)to verify your notes. Most novice researchers write down too much. Condense. Abbreviate. You are striving for substance, not quantity. Quote directly from primary sources--but the "meat," not everything. Suggestions for condensing information: Summary: A summary is intended to provide the gist of an essay. Do not weave in the author's choice phrases. Read the information first and then condense the main points in your own words. This practice will help you avoid the copying that leads to plagiarism. Summarizing also helps you both analyze the text you are reading and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses (Barnet and Bedau 13). Outline: Use to identify a series of points. Paraphrase, except for key primary source quotations. Never quote directly from a secondary source, unless the precise wording is essential to your argument. Simplify the language and list the ideas in the same order. A paraphrase is as long as the original. Paraphrasing is helpful when you are struggling with a particularly difficult passage. Be sure to jot down your own insights or flashes of brilliance. Ralph Waldo Emerson warns you to "Look sharply after your thoughts. They come unlooked for, like a new bird seen on your trees, and, if you turn to your usual task, disappear...." To differentiate these insights from those of the source you are reading, initial them as your own. (When the following examples of note cards include the researcher's insights, they will be followed by the initials N. R.) When you have finished researching your thesis and you are ready to write your paper, organize your cards according to topic. Notecards make it easy to shuffle and organize your source information on a table-- or across the floor. Maintain your working outline that includes the note card headings and explores a logical order for presenting them in your paper. IV. Begin Thinking, Researching, Organizing Back to Top Don't be too sequential. Researching, writing, revising is a complex interactive process. Start writing as soon as possible! "The best antidote to writer's block is--to write." (Klauser 15). However, you still feel overwhelmed and are staring at a blank page, you are not alone. Many students find writing the first sentence to be the most daunting part of the entire research process. Be creative. Cluster (Rico 28-49). Clustering is a form of brainstorming. Sometimes called a web, the cluster forms a design that may suggest a natural organization for a paper. Here's a graphical depiction of brainstorming . Like a sun, the generating idea or topic lies at the center of the web. From it radiate words, phrases, sentences and images that in turn attract other words, phrases, sentences and images. Put another way--stay focused. Start with your outline. If clustering is not a technique that works for you, turn to the working outline you created during the research process. Use the outline view of your word processor. If you have not already done so, group your note cards according to topic headings. Compare them to your outline's major points. If necessary, change the outline to correspond with the headings on the note cards. If any area seems weak because of a scarcity of facts or opinions, return to your primary and/or secondary sources for more information or consider deleting that heading. Use your outline to provide balance in your essay. Each major topic should have approximately the same amount of information. Once you have written a working outline, consider two different methods for organizing it. Deduction: A process of development that moves from the general to the specific. You may use this approach to present your findings. However, as noted above, your research and interpretive process should be inductive. Deduction is the most commonly used form of organization for a research paper. The thesis statement is the generalization that leads to the specific support provided by primary and secondary sources. The thesis is stated early in the paper. The body of the paper then proceeds to provide the facts, examples, and analogies that flow logically from that thesis. The thesis contains key words that are reflected in the outline. These key words become a unifying element throughout the paper, as they reappear in the detailed paragraphs that support and develop the thesis. The conclusion of the paper circles back to the thesis, which is now far more meaningful because of the deductive development that supports it. Chronological order A process that follows a traditional time line or sequence of events. A chronological organization is useful for a paper that explores cause and effect. Parenthetical Documentation Back to Top The Works Cited page, a list of primary and secondary sources, is not sufficient documentation to acknowledge the ideas, facts, and opinions you have included within your text. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers describes an efficient parenthetical style of documentation to be used within the body of your paper. Guidelines for parenthetical documentation: "References to the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited" (Gibaldi 184). Try to use parenthetical documentation as little as possible. For example, when you cite an entire work, it is preferable to include the author's name in the text. The author's last name followed by the page number is usually enough for an accurate identification of the source in the works cited list. These examples illustrate the most common kinds of documentation. Documenting a quotation: Ex. "The separation from the personal mother is a particularly intense process for a daughter because she has to separate from the one who is the same as herself" (Murdock 17). She may feel abandoned and angry. Note: The author of The Heroine's Journey is listed under Works Cited by the author's name, reversed--Murdock, Maureen. Quoted material is found on page 17 of that book. Parenthetical documentation is after the quotation mark and before the period. Documenting a paraphrase: Ex. In fairy tales a woman who holds the princess captive or who abandons her often needs to be killed (18). Note: The second paraphrase is also from Murdock's book The Heroine's Journey. It is not, however, necessary to repeat the author's name if no other documentation interrupts the two. If the works cited page lists more than one work by the same author, include within the parentheses an abbreviated form of the appropriate title. You may, of course, include the title in your sentence, making it unnecessary to add an abbreviated title in the citation. > Prepare a Works Cited Page Back to Top There are a variety of titles for the page that lists primary and secondary sources (Gibaldi 106-107). A Works Cited page lists those works you have cited within the body of your paper. The reader need only refer to it for the necessary information required for further independent research. Bibliography means literally a description of books. Because your research may involve the use of periodicals, films, art works, photographs, etc. "Works Cited" is a more precise descriptive term than bibliography. An Annotated Bibliography or Annotated Works Cited page offers brief critiques and descriptions of the works listed. A Works Consulted page lists those works you have used but not cited. Avoid using this format. As with other elements of a research paper there are specific guidelines for the placement and the appearance of the Works Cited page. The following guidelines comply with MLA style: The Work Cited page is placed at the end of your paper and numbered consecutively with the body of your paper. Center the title and place it one inch from the top of your page. Do not quote or underline the title. Double space the entire page, both within and between entries. The entries are arranged alphabetically by the author's last name or by the title of the article or book being cited. If the title begins with an article (a, an, the) alphabetize by the next word. If you cite two or more works by the same author, list the titles in alphabetical order. Begin every entry after the first with three hyphens followed by a period. All entries begin at the left margin but subsequent lines are indented five spaces. Be sure that each entry cited on the Works Cited page corresponds to a specific citation within your paper. Refer to the the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (104- 182) for detailed descriptions of Work Cited entries. Citing sources from online databases is a relatively new phenomenon. Make sure to ask your professor about citing these sources and which style to use. V. Draft, Revise, Rewrite, Rethink Back to Top "There are days when the result is so bad that no fewer than five revisions are required. In contrast, when I'm greatly inspired, only four revisions are needed." --John Kenneth Galbraith Try freewriting your first draft. Freewriting is a discovery process during which the writer freely explores a topic. Let your creative juices flow. In Writing without Teachers , Peter Elbow asserts that "[a]lmost everybody interposes a massive and complicated series of editings between the time words start to be born into consciousness and when they finally come off the end of the pencil or typewriter [or word processor] onto the page" (5). Do not let your internal judge interfere with this first draft. Creating and revising are two very different functions. Don't confuse them! If you stop to check spelling, punctuation, or grammar, you disrupt the flow of creative energy. Create; then fix it later. When material you have researched comes easily to mind, include it. Add a quick citation, one you can come back to later to check for form, and get on with your discovery. In subsequent drafts, focus on creating an essay that flows smoothly, supports fully, and speaks clearly and interestingly. Add style to substance. Create a smooth flow of words, ideas and paragraphs. Rearrange paragraphs for a logical progression of information. Transition is essential if you want your reader to follow you smoothly from introduction to conclusion. Transitional words and phrases stitch your ideas together; they provide coherence within the essay. External transition: Words and phrases that are added to a sentence as overt signs of transition are obvious and effective, but should not be overused, as they may draw attention to themselves and away from ideas. Examples of external transition are "however," "then," "next," "therefore." "first," "moreover," and "on the other hand." Internal transition is more subtle. Key words in the introduction become golden threads when they appear in the paper's body and conclusion. When the writer hears a key word repeated too often, however, she/he replaces it with a synonym or a pronoun. Below are examples of internal transition. Transitional sentences create a logical flow from paragraph to paragraph. Iclude individual words, phrases, or clauses that refer to previous ideas and that point ahead to new ones. They are usually placed at the end or at the beginning of a paragraph. A transitional paragraph conducts your reader from one part of the paper to another. It may be only a few sentences long. Each paragraph of the body of the paper should contain adequate support for its one governing idea. Speak/write clearly, in your own voice. Tone: The paper's tone, whether formal, ironic, or humorous, should be appropriate for the audience and the subject. Voice: Keep you language honest. Your paper should sound like you. Understand, paraphrase, absorb, and express in your own words the information you have researched. Avoid phony language. Sentence formation: When you polish your sentences, read them aloud for word choice and word placement. Be concise. Strunk and White in The Elements of Style advise the writer to "omit needless words" (23). First, however, you must recognize them. Keep yourself and your reader interested. In fact, Strunk's 1918 writing advice is still well worth pondering. First, deliver on your promises. Be sure the body of your paper fulfills the promise of the introduction. Avoid the obvious. Offer new insights. Reveal the unexpected. Have you crafted your conclusion as carefully as you have your introduction? Conclusions are not merely the repetition of your thesis. The conclusion of a research paper is a synthesis of the information presented in the body. Your research has led you to conclusions and opinions that have helped you understand your thesis more deeply and more clearly. Lift your reader to the full level of understanding that you have achieved. Revision means "to look again." Find a peer reader to read your paper with you present. Or, visit your college or university's writing lab. Guide your reader's responses by asking specific questions. Are you unsure of the logical order of your paragraphs? Do you want to know whether you have supported all opinions adequately? Are you concerned about punctuation or grammar? Ask that these issues be addressed. You are in charge. Here are some techniques that may prove helpful when you are revising alone or with a reader. When you edit for spelling errors read the sentences backwards. This procedure will help you look closely at individual words. Always read your paper aloud. Hearing your own words puts them in a new light. Listen to the flow of ideas and of language. Decide whether or not the voice sounds honest and the tone is appropriate to the purpose of the paper and to your audience. Listen for awkward or lumpy wording. Find the one right word, Eliminate needless words. Combine sentences. Kill the passive voice. Eliminate was/were/is/are constructions. They're lame and anti-historical. Be ruthless. If an idea doesn't serve your thesis, banish it, even if it's one of your favorite bits of prose. In the margins, write the major topic of each paragraph. By outlining after you have written the paper, you are once again evaluating your paper's organization. OK, you've got the process down. Now execute! And enjoy! It's not everyday that you get to make history. VI. For Further Reading: Works Cited Back to Top Barnet, Sylvan, and Hugo Bedau. Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing: A Brief Guide to Argument. Boston: Bedford, 1993. Brent, Doug. Reading as Rhetorical Invention: Knowledge,Persuasion and the Teaching of Research-Based Writing. Urbana: NCTE, 1992. Elbow, Peter. Writing without Teachers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. Gibladi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 4th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 1995. Horvitz, Deborah. "Nameless Ghosts: Possession and Dispossession in Beloved." Studies in American Fiction , Vol. 17, No. 2, Autum, 1989, pp. 157-167. Republished in the Literature Research Center. Gale Group. (1 January 1999). Klauser, Henriette Anne. Writing on Both Sides of the Brain: Breakthrough Techniques for People Who Write. Philadelphia: Harper, 1986. Rico, Gabriele Lusser. Writing the Natural Way: Using Right Brain Techniques to Release Your Expressive Powers. Los Angeles: Houghton, 1983. Sorenson, Sharon. The Research Paper: A Contemporary Approach. New York: AMSCO, 1994. Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New York: MacMillan, 1979. Back to Top This guide adapted from materials published by Thomson Gale, publishers. For free resources, including a generic guide to writing term papers, see the Gale.com website , which also includes product information for schools. Historical Methods Background Information What is a Primary Source? Research starting points for primary sources, primary source databases, newspaper databases, advanced google searching. A Primary Source is a item produced from the time you are researching.  It can be a photograph, a letter, government documents, and much more.  Looking at actual sources from a specific time helps to get the firsthand account of what was happening when it was happening. For more in-depth guidance see the Primary Source Research guide. Below are good starting points for finding primary sources on a wide range of topics. Background Sources for Gaining Context If you have a general topic and need background information, these reference databases have short articles that often include references to primary sources or to secondary sources that may lead to key primary sources. Credo Reference This link opens in a new window Comprehensive reference collection (dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographies etc.) for all academic disciplines. more... less... Credo Reference provides a complete reference collection including encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographies, quotation books, bilingual dictionaries, measurement conversions, and more. Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window Comprehensive college-level encyclopedia. Online Research Tools for Primary Sources on Most Topics If you have a specific topic in mind, you use a search engine like Google for primary sources or digital collections on the topic (search examples: "digital collections" "atomic bomb", "primary sources" "atomic bomb"). HathiTrust Digital Library HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world and offered directly from the website. Library of Congress Collections National Archives Library Search On the search results page, you can limit the "Reource Type" or publication years, or include in the search terms the desired material type (e.g., diaries, correspondences, primary sources). Primary Sources by Subject Guide links to a large number of subject-specific resources for primary sources. Archive Grid Searches over 1000 archival institutions for primary source materials Google Search Search by topic and source type (e.g. "Civil War" pamphlets), or search for a specific document by placing quotation marks around the document name (e.g., "Emancipation Proclamation"). Search across multiple GALE databases of primary sources.  See the Research Tools page for a fuller list of recommended resources. The Smithsonian Collections from the world's largest museum Primary Sources Database Lists (Alphabetical/By Subject) Note: Some primary source databases include a large number of subcollections. See Subcollections in Large Databases  for details on the following databases: Accessible Archives, AM Explorer, Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Gale Primary Sources, HIstory Vault, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, and ProQuest Primary Sources.  Primary Sources by Subject Extensive list of primary source databases General Primary Source Databases (Cover a wide range of time periods and topics) Multidisciplinary resources providing access to thousands of primary source documents, including archival collections, government documents, periodicals, newspapers, and video.  Primary source collections across the entire portfolio of Adam Matthew Digital, spanning content from the 15th-21st centuries.  Archives of searchable historical primary source materials. Note: This content has moved to the History Commons platform, but still contains the Accessible Archives collections subscribed to by Rowan University. Archives Unbound This link opens in a new window Digital collection of historical documents from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. more... less... Collections cover a broad range of topics from the Middle Ages forward-from Witchcraft to World War II to twentieth-century political history. Time/Topic Specific Primary source documents from the Eighteenth Century.  Contains English and foreign language titles printed in the United Kingdom in the Eighteenth Century, including thousands of works from the Americas. Primary source materials about the Nineteenth Century.  Includes books, newspapers, periodicals, diaries and personal letters, manuscripts, photographs, pamphlets, maps and musical scores. Empire Online This link opens in a new window Primary source materials in world history. more... less... This resource brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of 'Empire' and its theories, practices and consequences. The materials span across the last five centuries and are accompanied by a host of secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology. American History Primary Sources American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection 1684 - 1912 This link opens in a new window Access to a set of historical periodicals published from 1684 through 1912. Heritagequest This link opens in a new window Comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources—rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, convenient research guides, interactive census maps. History Vault This link opens in a new window Archival collections documenting topics in eighteenth- through twentieth-century American history. more... less... Subjects include African American studies, women’s studies, history, political science, military and diplomatic history, immigration. Jewish Life in America, c1654-1954 This link opens in a new window Archive of primary source manuscripts on Jewish life in America from 1654 to 1954. more... less... History of Jewish communities in America from their first arrival in New York in 1654 to the integral part that they play today. The material is based on a rich variety of original manuscript collections from the unique holdings of the American Jewish Historical Society in New York. Life Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window Covers the years 1933 - 2000, including storytelling through documentary photographs and captions. more... less... Depicts national and international events and topical stories, providing intimate views of real people and their real life situations. National Museum of American History: Object Groups from Collections (Smithsonian) Browse by object group or search tne entire collection Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A transitional archive This link opens in a new window Collections on the history of the transatlantic slave trade from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. National Museum of African American History & Culture: Collections (Smithsonian) The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. World, Government, and Law Primary Sources Avalon Project The Avalon Project, a resource of the Yale Law School, provides full text of documents, online, that are important to law, history and diplomacy online. Over the years the collection has grown extensively and has been organized into various topical areas. About forty documents related to Terrorism are included under this title. Cold War International History Project The Project disseminates new information and perspectives on the history of the Cold War, in particular new findings from previously inaccessible sources on "the other side" -- the former Communist world. This is an endeavor of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window Primary source documents for U.S. national security topics. more... less... Contains a comprehensive collection of primary documents including declassified documents regarding critical U.S. policy decisions. Global Commodities This link opens in a new window Primary source materials for the study of global commodities in world history. more... less... Global Commodities brings together manuscript, printed and visual primary source materials for the study of global commodities in world history. The commodities featured in this resource have been transported, exchanged and consumed around the world for hundreds of years. They helped transform societies, global trading operations, habits of consumption and social practices. Historic Documents This link opens in a new window Primary source documents from 1972 forward in U.S. government and politics. U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window Provides access to a broad range of previously classified U.S. federal records spanning the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Includes sensitive documents from all the presidential libraries and numerous executive agencies. more... less... Covers major international events from the Cold War to the Vietnam War and beyond. Newspapers give insight into how an event or issue was reported on at a given historical moment. Historical Newspapers Historical Newspapers (Proquest) This link opens in a new window Newspaper digital archive of many significant U.S. and some international newspapers dating back to the 18th Century. Wall Street Journal (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window Online access to back issues of the Wall Street Journal, 1889 - 1999. more... less... Newspaper coverage is from 1889 through 1996. For more recent issues of the Wall Street Journal, select the Wall Street Journal (current) link. Washington Post (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window Online access to back issues of The Washington Post, 1877-1999. more... less... Includes PDF images of nearly all content published in the Washington Post from the beginning, 1877, through 1997. Search the Washington Post Current edition for information after this end date. African American Newspapers, Series 1 This link opens in a new window African American newspapers published in the U.S. from 1827-1998. more... less... Provides access to U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience. Historical Newspaper Guide (additional newspaper sources) Current Newspapers NewsBank Access World News This link opens in a new window Articles from a large collection of newspapers worldwide. more... less... NewsBank provides full-text information and perspectives from U.S. and international sources, including The Washington Post, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, Trenton Times, USA Today, London Times, The Economist China Daily (Beijing). Wall Street Journal (Online) This link opens in a new window Online e-news content from the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones. more... less... Coverage 2010-current; the same coverage is available in the comprehensive business database ABI. Older issues can be accessed through the full image database Wall Street Journal Historical. Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window News, magazine, and journal articles from the ethnic, minority and native press. more... less... An interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Coverage begins in 1990. Regional Business News This link opens in a new window News articles from regional business publications. more... less... Daily updates provide comprehensive full text for regional business publications. More Current Newspaper Databases You can use Google!  One of the best ways to do that is by using the Advanced Search option.  This helps you choose specific websites or domains ( .org ,  .gov ,  .edu ) to find information better suited to your needs and look for primary source documentation.  Google Advanced Search << Previous: Books Next: Articles >> Last Updated: Sep 13, 2024 10:40 AM URL: https://libguides.rowan.edu/HistoricalMethods Privacy Policy Home » Historical Research – Types, Methods and Examples Historical Research – Types, Methods and Examples Table of Contents Historical Research Definition: Historical research is the process of investigating and studying past events, people, and societies using a variety of sources and methods. This type of research aims to reconstruct and interpret the past based on the available evidence. Types of Historical Research There are several types of historical research, including: Descriptive Research This type of historical research focuses on describing events, people, or cultures in detail. It can involve examining artifacts, documents, or other sources of information to create a detailed account of what happened or existed. Analytical Research This type of historical research aims to explain why events, people, or cultures occurred in a certain way. It involves analyzing data to identify patterns, causes, and effects, and making interpretations based on this analysis. Comparative Research This type of historical research involves comparing two or more events, people, or cultures to identify similarities and differences. This can help researchers understand the unique characteristics of each and how they interacted with each other. Interpretive Research This type of historical research focuses on interpreting the meaning of past events, people, or cultures. It can involve analyzing cultural symbols, beliefs, and practices to understand their significance in a particular historical context. Quantitative Research This type of historical research involves using statistical methods to analyze historical data. It can involve examining demographic information, economic indicators, or other quantitative data to identify patterns and trends. Qualitative Research This type of historical research involves examining non-numerical data such as personal accounts, letters, or diaries. It can provide insights into the experiences and perspectives of individuals during a particular historical period. Data Collection Methods Data Collection Methods are as follows: Archival research : This involves analyzing documents and records that have been preserved over time, such as government records, diaries, letters, newspapers, and photographs. Archival research is often conducted in libraries, archives, and museums. Oral history : This involves conducting interviews with individuals who have lived through a particular historical period or event. Oral history can provide a unique perspective on past events and can help to fill gaps in the historical record. Artifact analysis: This involves examining physical objects from the past, such as tools, clothing, and artwork, to gain insights into past cultures and practices. Secondary sources: This involves analyzing published works, such as books, articles, and academic papers, that discuss past events and cultures. Secondary sources can provide context and insights into the historical period being studied. Statistical analysis : This involves analyzing numerical data from the past, such as census records or economic data, to identify patterns and trends. Fieldwork : This involves conducting on-site research in a particular location, such as visiting a historical site or conducting ethnographic research in a particular community. Fieldwork can provide a firsthand understanding of the culture and environment being studied. Content analysis: This involves analyzing the content of media from the past, such as films, television programs, and advertisements, to gain insights into cultural attitudes and beliefs. Data Analysis Methods Content analysis : This involves analyzing the content of written or visual material, such as books, newspapers, or photographs, to identify patterns and themes. Content analysis can be used to identify changes in cultural values and beliefs over time. Textual analysis : This involves analyzing written texts, such as letters or diaries, to understand the experiences and perspectives of individuals during a particular historical period. Textual analysis can provide insights into how people lived and thought in the past. Discourse analysis : This involves analyzing how language is used to construct meaning and power relations in a particular historical period. Discourse analysis can help to identify how social and political ideologies were constructed and maintained over time. Statistical analysis: This involves using statistical methods to analyze numerical data, such as census records or economic data, to identify patterns and trends. Statistical analysis can help to identify changes in population demographics, economic conditions, and other factors over time. Comparative analysis : This involves comparing data from two or more historical periods or events to identify similarities and differences. Comparative analysis can help to identify patterns and trends that may not be apparent from analyzing data from a single historical period. Qualitative analysis: This involves analyzing non-numerical data, such as oral history interviews or ethnographic field notes, to identify themes and patterns. Qualitative analysis can provide a rich understanding of the experiences and perspectives of individuals in the past. Historical Research Methodology Here are the general steps involved in historical research methodology: Define the research question: Start by identifying a research question that you want to answer through your historical research. This question should be focused, specific, and relevant to your research goals. Review the literature: Conduct a review of the existing literature on the topic of your research question. This can involve reading books, articles, and academic papers to gain a thorough understanding of the existing research. Develop a research design : Develop a research design that outlines the methods you will use to collect and analyze data. This design should be based on the research question and should be feasible given the resources and time available. Collect data: Use the methods outlined in your research design to collect data on past events, people, and cultures. This can involve archival research, oral history interviews, artifact analysis, and other data collection methods. Analyze data : Analyze the data you have collected using the methods outlined in your research design. This can involve content analysis, textual analysis, statistical analysis, and other data analysis methods. Interpret findings : Use the results of your data analysis to draw meaningful insights and conclusions related to your research question. These insights should be grounded in the data and should be relevant to the research goals. Communicate results: Communicate your findings through a research report, academic paper, or other means. This should be done in a clear, concise, and well-organized manner, with appropriate citations and references to the literature. Applications of Historical Research Historical research has a wide range of applications in various fields, including: Education : Historical research can be used to develop curriculum materials that reflect a more accurate and inclusive representation of history. It can also be used to provide students with a deeper understanding of past events and cultures. Museums : Historical research is used to develop exhibits, programs, and other materials for museums. It can provide a more accurate and engaging presentation of historical events and artifacts. Public policy : Historical research is used to inform public policy decisions by providing insights into the historical context of current issues. It can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of past policies and programs. Business : Historical research can be used by businesses to understand the evolution of their industry and to identify trends that may affect their future success. It can also be used to develop marketing strategies that resonate with customers’ historical interests and values. Law : Historical research is used in legal proceedings to provide evidence and context for cases involving historical events or practices. It can also be used to inform the development of new laws and policies. Genealogy : Historical research can be used by individuals to trace their family history and to understand their ancestral roots. Cultural preservation : Historical research is used to preserve cultural heritage by documenting and interpreting past events, practices, and traditions. It can also be used to identify and preserve historical landmarks and artifacts. Examples of Historical Research Examples of Historical Research are as follows: Examining the history of race relations in the United States: Historical research could be used to explore the historical roots of racial inequality and injustice in the United States. This could help inform current efforts to address systemic racism and promote social justice. Tracing the evolution of political ideologies: Historical research could be used to study the development of political ideologies over time. This could help to contextualize current political debates and provide insights into the origins and evolution of political beliefs and values. Analyzing the impact of technology on society : Historical research could be used to explore the impact of technology on society over time. This could include examining the impact of previous technological revolutions (such as the industrial revolution) on society, as well as studying the current impact of emerging technologies on society and the environment. Documenting the history of marginalized communities : Historical research could be used to document the history of marginalized communities (such as LGBTQ+ communities or indigenous communities). This could help to preserve cultural heritage, promote social justice, and promote a more inclusive understanding of history. Purpose of Historical Research The purpose of historical research is to study the past in order to gain a better understanding of the present and to inform future decision-making. Some specific purposes of historical research include: To understand the origins of current events, practices, and institutions : Historical research can be used to explore the historical roots of current events, practices, and institutions. By understanding how things developed over time, we can gain a better understanding of the present. To develop a more accurate and inclusive understanding of history : Historical research can be used to correct inaccuracies and biases in historical narratives. By exploring different perspectives and sources of information, we can develop a more complete and nuanced understanding of history. To inform decision-making: Historical research can be used to inform decision-making in various fields, including education, public policy, business, and law. By understanding the historical context of current issues, we can make more informed decisions about how to address them. To preserve cultural heritage : Historical research can be used to document and preserve cultural heritage, including traditions, practices, and artifacts. By understanding the historical significance of these cultural elements, we can work to preserve them for future generations. To stimulate curiosity and critical thinking: Historical research can be used to stimulate curiosity and critical thinking about the past. By exploring different historical perspectives and interpretations, we can develop a more critical and reflective approach to understanding history and its relevance to the present. When to use Historical Research Historical research can be useful in a variety of contexts. Here are some examples of when historical research might be particularly appropriate: When examining the historical roots of current events: Historical research can be used to explore the historical roots of current events, practices, and institutions. By understanding how things developed over time, we can gain a better understanding of the present. When examining the historical context of a particular topic : Historical research can be used to explore the historical context of a particular topic, such as a social issue, political debate, or scientific development. By understanding the historical context, we can gain a more nuanced understanding of the topic and its significance. When exploring the evolution of a particular field or discipline : Historical research can be used to explore the evolution of a particular field or discipline, such as medicine, law, or art. By understanding the historical development of the field, we can gain a better understanding of its current state and future directions. When examining the impact of past events on current society : Historical research can be used to examine the impact of past events (such as wars, revolutions, or social movements) on current society. By understanding the historical context and impact of these events, we can gain insights into current social and political issues. When studying the cultural heritage of a particular community or group : Historical research can be used to document and preserve the cultural heritage of a particular community or group. By understanding the historical significance of cultural practices, traditions, and artifacts, we can work to preserve them for future generations. Characteristics of Historical Research The following are some characteristics of historical research: Focus on the past : Historical research focuses on events, people, and phenomena of the past. It seeks to understand how things developed over time and how they relate to current events. Reliance on primary sources: Historical research relies on primary sources such as letters, diaries, newspapers, government documents, and other artifacts from the period being studied. These sources provide firsthand accounts of events and can help researchers gain a more accurate understanding of the past. Interpretation of data : Historical research involves interpretation of data from primary sources. Researchers analyze and interpret data to draw conclusions about the past. Use of multiple sources: Historical research often involves using multiple sources of data to gain a more complete understanding of the past. By examining a range of sources, researchers can cross-reference information and validate their findings. Importance of context: Historical research emphasizes the importance of context. Researchers analyze the historical context in which events occurred and consider how that context influenced people’s actions and decisions. Subjectivity : Historical research is inherently subjective, as researchers interpret data and draw conclusions based on their own perspectives and biases. Researchers must be aware of their own biases and strive for objectivity in their analysis. Importance of historical significance: Historical research emphasizes the importance of historical significance. Researchers consider the historical significance of events, people, and phenomena and their impact on the present and future. Use of qualitative methods : Historical research often uses qualitative methods such as content analysis, discourse analysis, and narrative analysis to analyze data and draw conclusions about the past. Advantages of Historical Research There are several advantages to historical research: Provides a deeper understanding of the past : Historical research can provide a more comprehensive understanding of past events and how they have shaped current social, political, and economic conditions. This can help individuals and organizations make informed decisions about the future. Helps preserve cultural heritage: Historical research can be used to document and preserve cultural heritage. By studying the history of a particular culture, researchers can gain insights into the cultural practices and beliefs that have shaped that culture over time. Provides insights into long-term trends : Historical research can provide insights into long-term trends and patterns. By studying historical data over time, researchers can identify patterns and trends that may be difficult to discern from short-term data. Facilitates the development of hypotheses: Historical research can facilitate the development of hypotheses about how past events have influenced current conditions. These hypotheses can be tested using other research methods, such as experiments or surveys. Helps identify root causes of social problems : Historical research can help identify the root causes of social problems. By studying the historical context in which these problems developed, researchers can gain a better understanding of how they emerged and what factors may have contributed to their development. Provides a source of inspiration: Historical research can provide a source of inspiration for individuals and organizations seeking to address current social, political, and economic challenges. By studying the accomplishments and struggles of past generations, researchers can gain insights into how to address current challenges. Limitations of Historical Research Some Limitations of Historical Research are as follows: Reliance on incomplete or biased data: Historical research is often limited by the availability and quality of data. Many primary sources have been lost, destroyed, or are inaccessible, making it difficult to get a complete picture of historical events. Additionally, some primary sources may be biased or represent only one perspective on an event. Difficulty in generalizing findings: Historical research is often specific to a particular time and place and may not be easily generalized to other contexts. This makes it difficult to draw broad conclusions about human behavior or social phenomena. Lack of control over variables : Historical research often lacks control over variables. Researchers cannot manipulate or control historical events, making it difficult to establish cause-and-effect relationships. Subjectivity of interpretation : Historical research is often subjective because researchers must interpret data and draw conclusions based on their own biases and perspectives. Different researchers may interpret the same data differently, leading to different conclusions. Limited ability to test hypotheses: Historical research is often limited in its ability to test hypotheses. Because the events being studied have already occurred, researchers cannot manipulate variables or conduct experiments to test their hypotheses. Lack of objectivity: Historical research is often subjective, and researchers must be aware of their own biases and strive for objectivity in their analysis. However, it can be difficult to maintain objectivity when studying events that are emotionally charged or controversial. Limited generalizability: Historical research is often limited in its generalizability, as the events and conditions being studied may be specific to a particular time and place. This makes it difficult to draw broad conclusions that apply to other contexts or time periods. About the author Muhammad Hassan Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer You may also like Humanities Research – Types, Methods and Examples Artistic Research – Methods, Types and Examples Scientific Research – Types, Purpose and Guide Documentary Research – Types, Methods and... Original Research – Definition, Examples, Guide 220 IMAGES Find Primary Sources Historical Research Primary Source Analysis Research Paper Example UNITED STATES HISTORY RESEARCH PAPER Primary Sources ⛔ How to do a history research paper. How To Write A History Research VIDEO History Research Papers: Structure and Components World History Primary and Secondary Sources of History The Watkins Guide to Research Papers GCSE History source paper tips GCSE History source paper tips COMMENTS What is a Primary Source? Articles in non-science fields (religion, public policy): see the list in the Library Research Guide for History. Professional/Trade: Aimed at particular trades or professions. See the Library Research Guide for History. Newspaper articles: see the Guide to Newspapers and Newspaper Indexes. Personal accounts. These are first person narratives ... Finding Primary Sources for Teachers and Students Finding Primary Sources Primary Sources from DocsTeach Thousands of online primary source documents from the National Archives to bring the past to life as classroom teaching tools. National Archives Catalog Find online primary source materials for classroom & student projects from the National Archive's online catalog (OPA). Beginning Research Activities Student activities designed to help ... Introduction to Historical Research : Primary Sources They often reflect the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer. Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period and can serve as evidence in making an historical argument. Examples include: Artifacts. Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs) Diaries Finding Historical Primary Sources: Getting Started Some historical newspapers and magazines (examples include: San Francisco Chronicle, Harper's Weekly, The Japan Times) -historical full text available through a UCB Library database. Online primary sources may be found via free web sites as well as via Library databases. Primary sources may be physically located in any of a number of UC ... Research Guides: Primary sources: a guide for historians: Home About primary sources. Whether you are beginning a junior paper, a senior thesis, or a doctoral dissertation in history, the first challenge is to identify a cache of primary source material that addresses the issue, person, place, or period that interests you. This guide offers some general suggestions about how to get started. Finding Primary Sources There are a few different ways to discover the best primary sources for you. Select from a curated set Primary Source Sets - Each set collects primary sources on a specific frequently-taught topic, along with historical background information and teaching ideas. Free to Use and Reuse Sets - Batches of primary sources on engaging topics. Finding Primary Sources in History Primary sources are the pieces of evidence that historians analyze and interpret to support their historical arguments. Depending on your topic, almost any kind of material can be used as a primary source as long as it was created during the time period that you are researching or was created by someone who participated, as in the case of oral ... Primary Sources To find published primary sources in library catalogs, try these strategies:-Search by date of publication to find sources that were published during the time period you're researching --you can also use this strategy in full-text digital collections such as ProQuest Historical Newspapers-Use the library catalog advanced search option and include one or more of these Library of Congress ... Introduction Historians use primary sources as the raw evidence to analyze and interpret the past. They publish secondary sources - often scholarly articles or books - that explain their interpretation. When you write a historical research paper, you are creating a secondary source based on your own analysis of primary source material. Primary Sources Home DEFINITION: Primary sources are original sources created at the time a historical event occurs (or possibly afterwards) and are directly associated with their creater (or user).Essentially, a primary source is the subjective interpretation of a witness to an event. Primary sources serve as the raw materials historians use to interpret / analyze the past. JSTOR Primary Sources Visit our for help logging in to JSTOR. 25,975. Primary source collections currently available on JSTOR are multidisciplinary and discipline-specific and include select monographs, pamphlets, manuscripts, letters, oral histories, government documents, images, 3D models, spatial data, type specimens, drawings, paintings, and more. Introduction to Historical Research : Home This guide is an introduction to selected resources available for historical research. It covers both primary sources (such as diaries, letters, newspaper articles, photographs, government documents and first-hand accounts) and secondary materials (such as books and articles written by historians and devoted to the analysis and interpretation of historical events and evidence). Guides: History Research Guide: Understanding Primary Sources Primary Source: Secondary Source: Text of the Gettysburg Address: A modern study of the Gettysburg Address: A scientific study done by a researcher: Analysis of that study by another researcher: An interview with a person who witnessed President Kennedy's assassination that appeared in the local paper the next day Types of Sources: Getting Started That same newspaper article could also act as a primary source, though, if you were writing a paper on how media outlets portrayed that particular person or event. ... into how people, institutions, and places lived. Primary sources can take many forms, particularly when conducting historical research. Examples of Primary Sources include ... History Research Guide: Primary Sources and Archives Full-text primary sources from the 15th to the 21st centuries covering area studies, cultural studies, empires, ethnic studies, history, politics, literature, theatre, war, and more. For more information, view this brief tutorial on using AM Explorer. There are a large number of collections in AM Explorer. Library Research Guide for History Connected Histories: British History Sources, 1500-1900 provides federated searching for several databases of British primary historical sources, including the primary source content of British History Online for 1500-1900. Manuscripts Online (1000 to 1500) searches a variety of online resources on manuscript and early printed culture in ... Evaluating primary and secondary sources START YOUR RESEARCH. Ask a Librarian; Book a Research Consultation; Research Tools; Explore Research Guides; ... Historians use primary sources as evidence to support their historical arguments. They are aware that primary sources often reflect the interests and concerns of their creator or author so must be critically examined and evaluated ... A Step by Step Guide to Doing Historical Research This step-by-step guide progresses from an introduction to historical resources to information about how to identify a topic, craft a thesis and develop a research paper. Table of contents: The Range and Richness of Historical Sources. Secondary Sources. Primary Sources. LibGuides: History Research Guide: Primary vs. Secondary Sources Primary sources are evidence of events, people, history, or objects created by participants or observers at the time or during the time period that these events occurred, people lived, or objects were created. Some primary sources are created "after the fact" and recorded as memoirs, narratives, and oral histories. Whether written at the time or recorded later, primary sources are considered ... Research Guides: Historical Methods: Primary Sources A Primary Source is a item produced from the time you are researching. It can be a photograph, a letter, government documents, and much more. Looking at actual sources from a specific time helps to get the firsthand account of what was happening when it was happening. For more in-depth guidance see the Primary Source Research guide. Primary Source Databases The Archives of Sexuality & Gender provides a collection of primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender. With material dating back to the sixteenth century, researchers and scholars can examine how sexual norms have changed over time, health and hygiene, the development of sex education, the rise of sexology, changing gender roles, social movements and activism ... PDF A Brief Guide to Writing the History Paper as been more convincing than the other(s).s Scenario #2: Scholars have disagreed about my topic, and my paper demonstrates why the entire debate needs t. be recast in a more meaningful direction.s Scenario #3: Scholars have (more or less) agreed about my topic, and my paper argues for a differe. ion.Familiar Argu. PDF Guidelines for Historical Research and Writing 4. Base your paper on primary sources and a thorough reading of secondary sources. Whenever possible trace your research back to the primary sources. Primary sources are the texts nearest to any subject of investigation; secondary sources are always written about primary sources. The most common primary sources are written documents. Historical Research Communicate results: Communicate your findings through a research report, academic paper, or other means. This should be done in a clear, concise, and well-organized manner, with appropriate citations and references to the literature. ... Use of multiple sources: Historical research often involves using multiple sources of data to gain a more ... Research Guides: Women's History Sources: A Guide to Manuscripts and The earliest guide to women's history sources in Special Collections and University Archives was a photocopied handout produced in 1984. It featured the repository's entries from the 1979 Women's History Sources: A Guide to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States, edited by Andrea Hinding et. al., interfiled with entries from the supplemental "Gifts and Acquisitions: Women's ... Twenty years of microplastics pollution research—what have ... Over the past two decades hundreds of papers have specifically focused on the environmental accumulation of microplastic, including on shorelines (), in the deep sea (), the water column and sea ice as well as in organisms across biological taxa, from invertebrates at the base of the food web to apex predators (22, 23) and more recently in rivers, lakes and streams (24, 25), in soils (26, 27 ... assignment homework phd report resume review speech thesis