Schauffler Library: Humanities II: Primary Sources

Primary and Secondary Sources

The definition of a primary source depends upon the discipline and on how one is using the source.

Usually, a primary source is a direct, first-hand account of an event. It is usually something that was created at the time of an event, or shortly thereafter. Examples include:

Diaries
Letters
Speeches
Interviews
Statistics
Photographs
Art
Newspaper articles
Maps
Video and audio recordings
First-hand narratives or stories

A secondary source would be something that interprets, analyzes, or remarks upon a primary source. Examples include:

Scholarly journal articles
Newspaper and magazine articles
Essays
Theses and dissertations
Stories or films produced about an historical event

A tertiary source is further removed from a primary source. It leads the researcher to a secondary source, rather than to the primary source.

Encyclopedias and dictionaries
Textbooks
Biographies

Tip!

To find primary source material for your topic, try adding one of the keywords below:

charters
correspondence
diaries
documents
interviews
letters
manuscripts

oratory
pamphlets
personal narratives
sources
speeches

Recommended Primary Source Databases

While primary sources can be found throughout this libguide in places like books, newspaper articles, images and streaming video, and recommended websites, just to name a few, the following databases may be useful to you in identifying primary sources for your assignments:

America's Historical Newspapers: 1690-2000
Searchable full-text and images of newspapers from across the country including early newspapers (1690-1922), African American Newspapers (1827-1998); Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection (1799-1971), and Hispanic American Newspapers (1808-1980).

To cite in NoodleTools: From source page choose "Cite," export to "NoodleTools," and import the citation into your NoodleTools project | Add the article title to the citation if it is missing | URL in citation is stable
Artstor
Image database including architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture. More than 2 million images from top museums, archives, scholars, and artists — all rights-cleared for education and research.

To cite in NoodleTools: From source page choose "Cite," export to "NoodleTools," and import the citation into your NoodleTools project | URL in citation is stable
Historical Newspapers and Periodicals
Search through historical newspapers and periodicals — a great place to look for articles as primary sources!

To cite in NoodleTools: From source page choose "Cite," export to "NoodleTools," and import the citation into your NoodleTools project | URL in citation is stable
JSTOR
JSTOR provides access to the highest-quality academic scholarly journals, books, images, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

To cite in NoodleTools: From source page choose "Cite," export to "NoodleTools," and import the citation into your NoodleTools project | URL in citation is stable
ProQuest Databases
A single searchable source for scholarly journals, newspapers, magazines, reports, working papers, and datasets along with millions of pages of digitized historical primary sources.

To cite in NoodleTools: From source page choose "Cite," export to "NoodleTools," and import the citation into your NoodleTools project | URL in citation is stable
Salem History
This Database has a great selection of primary sources. The Decades series, Great Events from History, Milestone Documents, and Weapons and Warfare, which are also available as print resources in our Reference Collection, are included.

To cite in NoodleTools: +Create New Source | Where is it? Database | What is it? Reference Source | URL is unstable, use database name

Recommended Primary Source Websites

HINT! To cite these primary sources in NoodleTools: Where is it? >Website | What is it? >Historical Work in an Archive | URL is stable

Looking for more primary sources? Look for museums, archives, and other cultural institutions related to your topic.

The Avalon Project
This resource, created by the Lillian Goldman Law Library showcases primary sources from ancient to modern world history relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
The Library of Congress digital collections provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.
The National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Find founding documents, president's records, military records and other materials created by the federal government.
The Theological Commons
The Theological Commons is a freely accessible digital library of over 163,000 resources on theology and religion. Developed in partnership with the Internet Archive, it contains books, journals, audio recordings, photographs, manuscripts, and other formats dating from the medieval era to the present.