Research Resources

Primary sources are first-hand accounts of an event or time in history that has yet to be interpreted by another person.

Examples of primary sources include:

• diaries, journals, letters, interviews, speeches, memos, manuscripts and other first-person accounts
• memoirs and autobiographies
• official records such as government publications, census data, court reports, police records
• minutes, reports, correspondence of an organization or agency
• newspaper and magazine articles written during the time of the event
• photographs, paintings, film and television programs, audio recordings which document an event
• research such as opinion polls which document attitudes and thought during the time of an event
• artifacts such as objects, tools, clothing, etc. of the time period or eve+

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. 

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.

Secondary sources are the published work of scholars specializing in the topic. Secondary sources include scholarly books, articles, and essays (both analyses by contemporary scholars as well as older analyses), surveys, criticism, comparative studies, reference sources, and works on theory and methodology; this is also termed the secondary literature. Eventually you will need to decide which interpretation makes the most sense to you and seems consistent with your primary sources, or if you wish to offer a new interpretation. 

When we talk about secondary sources, most of the time we are referring to published scholarship on a subject, rather than supplemental material (bibliographies, encyclopedias, handbooks, etc.). Secondary literature is published in both book form and as articles in periodicals, either in print or digital format.

• Newspaper reporting on a scientific study
• Review of a music CD or art show
• Biography

You should start your research by consulting secondary sources.  Secondary sources will save you time because they describe or explain the lay of the land and point you to relevant primary sources.