The other day, someone asked for help identifying primary sources. He wanted to know what he could use as primary sources, and where he could find them. The simple answer is that just about anything can be a primary source. However, it has to be used in the proper context to actually be an appropriate primary source. I have a history background, so a lot of what I explain below is geared toward using primary sources for history, but you can apply the information to other disciplines.
When you need a primary source, what exactly are you looking for?
A primary source is an original document, record, or account produced as a result of or in response to an event; or a work created during the era you are studying. There are many different types of primary sources:
*Works created during a particular time period These can be just about anything, from novels and plays to nonfiction and journal articles. They tell you what people were writing about—what ideas were important to them--at the time.
*Newspaper articles They give you a report on the local, national, and world events of a given day. You can see the treatment that these events received as well.
*Speeches Speeches can reach a wide audience, and not only outline the peaker's opinion, but also demonstrate the important issues of the day.
*Diaries, letters, personal papers and records These types of documents are often found in manuscript collections, and you never know what gems you will find.
*Interviews You might find transcripts or maybe even audio or video recordings themselves. There are also published interviews in magazines. You don’t have to restrict yourself to interviews with famous people. Many interviews or oral histories with common people can provide great insight.
*Organizational records—from schools, businesses, committees, non-profits, and other groups These records are created as part of the function of an organization.
*Court transcripts You can learn a lot about a time period based on the cases brought before the court, the arguments made by the attorneys, the testimony of the witnesses, and the opinions of the judges.
*Government records and documents Congressional records contain the transcripts of the debates in Congress—you can learn what bills were presented, even if they did not pass and become law. Knowing what did not pass and the legislators’ rationales’ behind the bills is valuable too. Other government records can be interesting as well.
*Political cartoons They often satirize, giving the reader a different way to look at pertinent issues.
*Photographs You have to be cognizant of the context of photographs. Always think about why a picture might have been taken as well as the picture itself. You also need to consider captions that accompany photos because they can have a significant impact on the meaning or interpretation of a picture.
*Paintings and other types of artwork Like political cartoons and works produced in a certain era, they provide commentary on the issues of the day.
*Posters, pamphlets, and ads These visual sources bring some pop culture into your analysis. These are items that may have reached a large number of people, unlike a diary, for example.
It might seem a little bit confusing that almost anything can be a primary source. Whether something can be considered a primary source depends on how you intend to use it, and the type of source that you use will depend on the topic of your project. Some sources may be more appropriate or relevant than others.
Why are primary sources important?
Looking at primary sources gives you the opportunity to interpret documents yourself, whereas secondary sources are someone else’s interpretation of primary sources. By going directly to the source, you are able to form your own opinion about the document instead of report on an author’s argument. Going to the source allows you to examine an entire document. A secondary source may extract certain parts of a primary source to support an argument. Because they were produced during the era you are studying, primary sources give you insight into that period. You are reading what the people of that time wrote and read, or the pictures they saw.
Because primary sources come in many formats, there are different places to look, such as:
*Databases Newsbank and Newpaper Archive have newspaper articles, and EBSCO includes journal and magazine articles.
*Online catalogs You can find books or collections of primary sources. When you do a subject search, try adding “sources,” "personal narratives," or "diaries" to your search, depending on what you are looking for. When you search for a book from a particular time period, it will not necessarily be classified as a primary source.
*Internet Some good sites include
-Librarians’ Internet Index http://www.lii.org/ a gateway to other sites; not all will have primary sources
-American Memory http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html a great resource through the Library of Congress
-Library of Congress Prints and Photographs http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/catalog.html
-Thomas http://thomas.loc.gov/ covers the US Congress
-National Archives http://www.archives.gov/index.html government documents
-Government Printing Office http://www.gpoaccess.gov government documents
-H-Net http://www.h-net.org/ a searchable site for scholars in humanities and social science which will point you to some primary sources
*Bibliographies Check the secondary sources you are using to find the sources that the authors used to write their books. Be sure to identify which of the sources are primary sources as opposed to secondary sources. Sometimes you can find published bibliographies on a topic, too.
Using Primary Sources
*The way that you use a primary source will depend on the source itself. If you use court transcripts or the Congressional Records, you will have a lot more to work with than if you use a short newspaper article. In the first case, you might use your primary source as your main reference and use secondary sources to provide context, commentary, or contrast. In the case of a newspaper article, you might use that source as an example of the arguments in your secondary sources.
*Before analyzing the source, make sure you know the context in which it was written.You will not be able to properly analyze or understand what a primary source means, or why it matters, unless you know what was happening when it was created. In many cases, the context can be as important as the content, especially with visual sources.
*Consider the producer and the audience of the source. Who wrote it, why, and for whom? What was that person trying to accomplish, if anything.
*Determine if the writer has authority to speak or write about the subject. If you decide that the creator of the source is not qualified to speak about the topic, the source is not necessarily useless. The fact that someone would go through the effort to present an idea or create a piece of propaganda is important in and of itself. But, you must make that distinction.
*When you read newspaper reports, journal articles, and books written during your time period, remember that the authors are presenting a particular position. They are useful, and the author's take on an event or issue tells a story in and of itself. However, you must remember that newspaper reporters are putting their own spin on a report, and writers are making a specific argument. Everyone has a bias, or perspective.
*Even if it is a first-hand account, a single primary source does not tell the entire story. Secondary sources provide context, and other primary sources can fill in blanks, tell a different side of the story, or offer another perspective.
*Keep an open mind. Don’t be afraid to change your initial argument based on what you find. It is tempting to go into a project with an agenda. Let the sources guide your argument, rather than let your argument guide the sources.
*Remember, whether they are books or articles, visuals, or websites, always evaluate your sources, not only for credibility, but also for usefulness to your project. It is great to find primary source materials, but they must be relevant to your paper.
*Always cite your sources.
Public radio and public television are such terrific resources. I often times forget about them, but when I remember them, I'm always glad I did. One excellent series I watch on PBS from time to time is