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What is a primary source?
Think of a primary source as being direct evidence or firsthand testimony of the event or time period you are studying. A primary source reflects the opinion or viewpoint of a participant or observer. A primary source gives you an inside view of what took place.
Here are some types of primary sources:
| Original Documents |
Artifacts |
Creative Works |
Speeches |
Tools |
Novels |
Interviews |
Jewelry |
Poetry |
Diaries |
Clothing |
Visual art |
Autobiographies |
Pottery |
Performing arts |
Letters |
Buildings |
Films |
Original research data |
Furniture |
Music |
News film footage |
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Advertisements |
Newspaper accounts |
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Census data |
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Minutes (from meetings) |
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For example:
If you are studying Martin Luther King Jr., these things could be considered primary sources:
- A transcript of an interview with Martin Luther King Jr.
- The “I Have a Dream” speech, in the form of a transcript, video, or sound recording.
- Letters that he wrote
- Something that belonged to him, such as clothing or jewelry
- His diary
- A newspaper article about his assassination (written by a reporter who witnessed it)
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What is a secondary source?
A secondary source is one step removed from the event or topic you are studying. Secondary sources analyze, interpret, discuss, or explain a primary source. For example, if you listen to interviews that were done with Martin Luther King Jr. (primary sources) and then write a book about what you learned from the interviews, your book is a secondary source.
For example:
These things could be considered secondary sources:
- A biography (a book written about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life)
- A journal article that analyzes the “I Have a Dream” Speech
- An encyclopedia entry
- An article from today's newspaper about his assassination
Here are some examples of secondary sources:
Textbooks |
Literary criticism |
Commentaries |
Biographies |
Popular magazines |
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Encyclopedias |
Histories |
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How to find primary sources in print
First, Be Prepared!
There are many ways to find primary sources in print. Before you start, take a look at the library's reference section. There you will find a variety of specialized encyclopedias, handbooks, and chronologies that will provide an overview of your topic and identify the key players. Having a good understanding of your topic will make it easier to find relevant primary source material. Try to answer these questions:
Who? (names of the people/groups involved)
What? (name of the event, movement, or time period)
Where? (geographical locations)
When? (dates)
Use the Catalog
The catalog can be used to find books and AV materials in all of the NVCC campus libraries. The most effective way to search is by subject. It helps to know the official Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) that is assigned to your topic. Tip: the official subject heading for a topic is not always a commonly-used term. For example, books about the Vietnam War have a LCSH of "Vietnamese Conflict 1961-1975 ". Ask a Librarian for help in finding the best subject heading for your topic.
Once you know the best subject headings for your topic, you can combine them with other sub-headings that will help you find primary source material. Some good sub-heading examples are:
correspondence |
interviews |
personal narratives |
diaries |
pamphlets |
sources |
early works to 1800 |
periodicals |
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For example, a student who is studying the Vietnam War and wants to find personal narratives written by the soldiers might do this search in the catalog:
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How to find primary sources online
Technology has allowed many primary sources to be made available online, but how do you find them? One technique is using a search engine. You can use search engines most effectively by:
1. Choosing the most essential words and phrases related to your topic and using the word "and" in between. Some search engines ignore the "and", but others don't. Get in the habit of using it just in case.
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2. Using quotation marks around names ("Bill Clinton") and phrases ("middle ages"). The quotations act as the glue that keeps your name or phrase all together. Without quotes, the search engine will give you pages that contain the words, but they might be separated and scattered on the page.
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A student who hoped to find primary source material on medieval cooking might try this search:
Keep in mind that not everything is freely available online. If these sources don't work, please Ask a Librarian.
Here are some examples of online sources for primary source material:
United States:
Ad*Access
Contains over 7,000 historical advertisements from U.S. & Canadian publications between 1911 and 1955. It focuses on five subject areas: radio, television, transportation, beauty & hygiene, and World War II.
American Memory Project, Library of Congress
Contains over 7 million digital images related to the history and culture of the United States.
From Revolution to Reconstruction
Find texts of documents, letters, speeches, and more relating to United States history from pre-1400 to 2001. Created by the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
History and Politics Out Loud
A searchable archive of politically significant audio materials. Includes speeches and recordings of Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, among others. Most include an on-screen transcript that is viewed while listening to the audio.
Repositories of Primary Sources
"A listing of over 5500 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar. " Links are orgaznied by location; many sites provide virtual exhibits. Created by the University of Idaho Library.
Ancient History:
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook
Contains primary source texts from ancient history (usually public domain texts that were translated more than 75 years ago).
Perseus Digital Library
The Greek & Roman materials collection contains nearly 500 texts and over 56,000 images.
Middle Ages :
Internet Medieval History Sourcebook
Contains full texts of Medieval sources.
The Labrynth
A tool for finding medieval studies resources on the web. To limit your search to primary source material, scroll down the page to "Search by Category". Select your topic of interest on the left and "Primary Texts" on the right. Created by Georgetown University.
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If you need additional assistance,
please Ask a Librarian.
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