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Definition
Primary sources are first-hand accounts of an event, original research, or documents and objects that were created at the time under investigation.
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uniskills.library.curtin.edu.au/unitguides/apc/primary-sources
When looking for primary sources, you will have to consider the variety of types of sources available. The table below shows the many ways primary sources can by categorized.
| Artifacts (art, buildings, furniture, tools, machines, clothing, equipment) | Personal records (diaries, letters, financial records) |
| Audio recordings (interviews, music, speeches, videos and films) | Media (radio broadcasts, TV programs, internet social media) |
| Government documents (charter, court reports, laws, hearings, treaties) | Newspapers & Magazines (news articles, announcements, ads, cartoons) |
| Images (photos, drawings, posters, paintings, engravings) | Public records (tax or church records, minutes of meetings, shipping inventories) |
| Literary Texts (poetry, plays, novels, essays) | Statistics (Census records, research data, public opinion polls, social surveys) |
| Maps (fire insurance, gazetteers, county atlases) | Original Research (experimental data, lab notes, conference proceedings, technical reports, patents & peer reviewed journal articles of original research) |
Secondary sources interpret and analyze, or remark upon a primary source. They are interpretive works that are used to help build an argument in your essay.
- Examples include: Essays, Theses and Dissertations, Textbooks, Biographies, some Films & Documentaries and Journal articles (that do not include original research/studies). In the sciences, look for 'review articles' that summarize the current state of research on a given topic. They are sometimes called 'literature reviews'.
Tertiary sources compile or analyze secondary sources and are often factual.
- Examples include: Almanacs, Annotated Bibliographies, Chronologies, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Databases, Diagnostic manuals, Guidebooks, Handbooks, Indexes, Statistics
Watch this video: Understanding Primary & Secondary Sources (YouTube video)
Primary sources can be found in many formats as described in the categories above. You will need to determine the type of primary material you need for your assignment or essay. If you need some guidance, ask a librarian for research help.
To begin your search, consider the following questions:
- what types of primary materials were produced in that time period?
- who produced them?
- who would have used them?
- why does this source still exist?
- why was it important?
The best place to look for primary sources and scientific articles are the databases provided by the library. These databases contain millions of citations.
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Select and search a database from the list below. They are arranged by title (A-Z), or by Subject/Type.
Databases (scan the A-Z master database list)
Primary Source Databases, arranged By Subject
Art & Architecture
Cultural Heritage
- Black Thought and Culture
- British History Online
- Canadiana
- Early Encounters in North America: Peoples, Cultures & the Environment
- Empire Online
- English Historical Documents
- Index Islamicus
- JSTOR
- Making of America
- Mass Observation Online
- Reader's Guide Retrospective
- Time Magazine Archive
- Women and Social Movements, International, 1840-present
Government Documents and Law
- American State Papers, 1789-1838
- Apartheid through the Eyes of South African Political Parties, 1948-1994
- Canadian Parliamentary Publications: Pre-Confederation
- Canadiana
- Eurodocs
- FBIS
- Foreign Relations between Latin America and the Caribbean States, 1930-1944
- HeinOnline
- LLMC Digital
- Latin American Pamphlet Digital Collection
- OSTI.GOV
- State Papers Online: the Government of Britain, 1509-1714
- UK Parliamentary Papers
- US Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994
- US Intelligence on Europe, 1945-1995
- WTO iLibrary
Manuscripts
Newspapers
- Historical Newspaper Archives (Please note that newspapers can be either primary or secondary sources. If a news article is documenting an eyewitness account of event, it is a primary source, but if it is an article that is research-based, it is a secondary source.)
Literary Collections
- C19: The Nineteenth Century Index
- Canadiana
- Early English Books Online
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online
- TLS Historical Archive 1902-2019
- Waterloo Directory of English Newspapers and Periodicals 1800-1900
- Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals 1824-1900
- Women Writers Project
Science and Engineering
Video Archival and Historical Footage
- British Pathé
- CBC Archives
- Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
- National Film Board of Canada
Web Sources - freely available on the Internet
Search Tips:
- Search Omni by keyword to find primary source books, and then limit your search by using one of the following terms to find primary sources in the library's collection: Correspondence, Diaries, Journal, Letters, Memoir, Oral History, Personal Narrative, Recollections, Sources
- Remember, as you read secondary sources you will discover primary sources used by the author(s), so make sure to check the references and bibliographies of your secondary sources in order to discover primary sources.
- Try searching the JSTOR database first because it features a 'primary source content' filter and provides access to a wide variety of primary sources such as: artwork, newspapers, manuscripts, photographs and artifacts, from museums and archives around the world.
- Citing primary sources: archive and non-archive (CU Library)
- Citations for Archival Materials (MLA, APA and Chicago Styles) (CSUDH University Library)
