LibGuides: Primary Sources: Primary Sources Overview

What are Primary Sources?

An important component to the research process is primary research. Primary research involves learning by watching what people say and do, asking them questions, and drawing conclusions. It includes conducting original research to find information not available from other sources.

Observing and collecting firsthand knowledge about a topic is the core activity of primary research. It might also involve examining primary sources and drawing conclusions from them. Primary sources are original documents or firsthand accounts created at the time of the event.

Examples of primary sources may include:

Artifact, autobiography, letters, diaries, memoirs, contemporary newspaper reporting, archival collections, historical documents, personal papers, speeches, novels, public documents (legislative bills, court records, census records, vital records, etc.), laboratory studies, field research reports, telegram, original works of literature, music or art, original unedited film or audio recording of an event and eyewitness accounts.

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
How to distinguish between a primary source, a secondary source and a tertiary source.

Primary Source Skills Guide
This guide from the Churchill Archive discusses : What's an archive? What counts as a primary source? How do you interpret various primary sources such as: photographs, letters, speech notes, maps, charts, graphs, newspaper clippings, and telegraphs.

Evaluating Primary Sources

The resources below can help you identify and evaluate primary sources:

Primary Sources: Evaluating
Tips for evaluating how well the version/reproduction /transcription being used represents its original source.
How to Read a Primary Source
From Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students.
Spotting Bogus Claims
YouTube video from FactCheck.org on evaluating information for reliability.
Evaluating Sources for Credibility
Video from the North Carolina State University Library on evaluating sources for credible information.
Document Analysis Worksheets
From the National Archives, use these worksheets — for photos, written documents, artifacts, posters, maps, cartoons, videos, and sound recordings — to learn the process of document analysis.