HIS: History Research Guide: Primary Sources
Finding primary sources
The guides provide information about finding and using primary sources.
- Using Primary Sources on the Web(American Library Association). Includes links to authoritative collections of primary sources and advice on evaluating primary source Web sites.
- Finding Historical Primary SourcesUniversity Of California Berkeley Guide
- Finding Primary SourcesGuide to online primary sources from the Library of Congress.
Understanding primary sources
- How to Read a Primary SourceBowdoin College guide
- Reading and Writing about Primary SourcesCollege of William and Mary guide
Historical newspaper & periodical collections
Newspaper and peiodical articles also provide first hand accounts of historical events.
Use the collections listed below and other research databses with historic content to access these materials. Use the Kent VPN for off campus access.
- American Periodicals Series Online (1741 - 1900)Use KSU Proxy for off-campus access.
- LexisNexis AcademicContains the full text of many newspapers (including foreign lanuage newspapers) going back more than 30 years, federal and state case law and legislative materials, law reviews, company news and financial information, medical and health information, general information sources, and much more.
- New York Times - Historical (1851 - )Use KSU Proxy for off-campus access.
New York Times Online
- New York Times OnlinePowerPoint presentation
What are primary sources?
Primary sources are documents, records, or artifacts created at the time of a historical event or at a later date (as in the case of memoirs) by participants in or observers of the event.
Examples of primary sources include
- Letters, diaries, speeches, autobiographies or memoirs, manuscripts, and other personal papers
- Papers of organizations or socieities
- Periodical or newspaper articles
- Government and public documents
- Books
- Oral histories/ interviews
- Photographs, movies, and other visuals
- Music and other recordings
- Artifacts
Online collections of primary sources
- American Memory ProjectLibrary of Congress
- Avalon ProjectDocuments in law, history, and diplomacy from Yale University, Goldman Law Library.
- The British Museum (Collection Online)"The Museum’s collection online offers everyone unparalleled access to objects in the collection. This innovative database is one of the earliest and most extensive online museum search platforms in the world."
- Epistolae: Medieval Women's Letters"Epistolae is a collection of letters to and from women dating from the 4th to the 13th century AD. These letters from the Middle Ages, written in Latin, are presented with English translations and are organized by the women participating. Biographical sketches of the women and descriptions of the subject matter or the historic context of the letter is included where available."
- EuroDocsOnline sources for European history created by Richard Hacken, Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
- History MattersFor high school and college teachers and students. Includes 1000 primary documents, images, and audio interviews
- Making of AmericaDigital library of primary sources in American social history developed by the University Of Michigan and Cornell University
- Silk Road Narratives: A Collection of Historical TextsHistorical texts and maps that "explore cultural interaction across Eurasia from the beginning of the Common Era (A. D.) to the Seventeenth Century."
- World Digital Library - Browse by TimeA collection of manuscripts, books, and visual resources. You can select a date range of interest and use limiters to further focus your search by geographical place, topic, or time period.
- World History MattersGsateway to world history web sites developed by the Center for History and New Media
Ohio sources
Searching with Google
1. Try adding these terms to your search string: digital (archive or library or collection or gallery)
Put your basic term in quotation marks if it is a phrase. For example: "women's history" digital (archive or library or collection)
Ask Us
Need help finding the information you need? Try Ask Us for assistance from KSU Libraries.
Catalog search tips
- Use primary source format types (correspondence, autobiographies, diaries, documents, etc.) in your search. These are often part of the subject heading, or subject words, in the record. Combine them with words describing your topic. For example: diaries AND civil war.
- Try searching by author (not subject) to find works that a person wrote.
- Look at sub-headings to identify primary source format types. For example, . WOMEN--MIDDLE AGES-- SOURCES
- Pay attention to the publication date. If the original publication date is within the period you are studying, you probably have a primary source.
Follow the footnotes
Look for primary sources in the footnotes and bibliographies of the secondary sources you are using. Then search library catalogs for the work cited.