| PRIMARY
SOURCES A Northwest Vista College Library Research Guide |
Primary
sources
are
records of events as they are first described, without any interpretation
or commentary including firsthand documents such as poems, diaries, court
records, interviews, research results generated by experiments, surveys, ethnographies.
They are also sets of data, such as census statistics, which have been tabulated,
but not interpreted.
Secondary
sources offer an analysis
or a restatement of primary sources. They often attempt to describe or explain
primary sources. Some secondary sources not only analyze primary sources,
but use them to argue a contention or to persuade the reader to hold a certain
opinion. They include dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, and books and
articles that interpret or review research works.
(definitions from Bowling Green State University Library
Instruction website)
To
Search for Primary Sources Using the Library Website:
Library
Catalog
Search
: Keyword : “Your Topic” and “Primary source”
Other
search terms to try instead of “primary
source” : Correspondence; diaries; letters; oral history(s); source(s); speeches;
interview(s); pictorial works
Search
: Other : Form/Genre : Primary source
Online Databases
Academic
Search Complete
-
AP/Accunet
Multimedia Archive
-
Contains
photos, graphics, text & audio from the Associated Press featuring two
photo databases: an International photo archive and a Euro/Asian photo archive;
a graphics database containing graphics, maps, illustrations and logos prepared
by the Associated Press; a text database containing full-text articles describing
events at the time they occurred, as reported by the Associated Press staffers
with 48 hour embargo; and, an audio database containing searchable audio clips
dating back to the 1920s, with clips as recent as 48 hours. (Suggestion: View “Take a Guided Tour” before beginning
search)
Facts.com - Found under Issues/Controversies / Menu
Access / Source Documents (Primary documents since 1940)
The
Nation - Includes PDF page images and searchable OCR text for
all issues published since 6 July 1865.
Opposing
Viewpoints Resource Center - Contains ca. 170 documents (Search: “Your
Topic” : Select the tab for primary documents – if available)
Student
Research Center
- Contains thousands of curriculum-targeted primary documents.
(Search : “Your Topic” : select the tab for primary documents)
ü
Search : Primary Documents or
Primary Sources
Librarians’ Index to the Internet
ü
Search : Primary Source
DON’T FORGET: