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First-Year Writing Seminar

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Primary Sources

Primary sources

Primary sources are the items that get you as close as possible to the ideas or events in your research question. They usually involve direct observation or participation. Secondary sources summarize, interpret, and/or analyze primary sources. 

Some examples of primary sources:

  • Speeches
  • Diaries
  • Autobiographies or memoirs
  • Letters
  • Interviews
  • Images
  • Audio or video recordings
  • Newspaper articles
  • Magazine or periodical articles (written at the time studied)
  • Archival records, logs, and data
  • Political and legal documents

Important note: Depending on the research question, the line between primary and secondary sources can be less clear. If you are studying math textbooks from the 1960s, those textbooks become your primary sources. 

Primary Source Databases

Google Searching

Google searching will likely point you towards finding primary sources especially related to very current topics. Some ideas:

  • Try typing in your topic and what you want to look for
    • Primary sources for current events might be news articles, social media posts, videos, podcasts
    • Primary sources for historical events might be digitized
    • You might find a database, or collection, of useful primary sources on your topic that you can explore more
  • The Wikipedia references section might be another good place to look
    • Don’t cite Wikipedia, but try to use its Reference list to your advantage

Selected News Sources

Burns Library

Burns Library collects in multiple areas, and has large collections that represent previous areas of collecting concentration.  Our materials are discoverable through many interfaces, but we always recommend starting with the advanced search in the library catalog.

You can request an appointment during the process of searching for materials in the Library Catalog or the Search Burns Archives Finding Aids. Should you not know what materials you would like to view, but would still like an appointment, please reach out to us via our Contact Us page so we can assist you.