Sometimes, a secondary source (a source that analyzes primary sources to understand why a phenomenon happened such as scholarly articles published in academic journals, research books, biographies, textbooks, etc.) can be treated as a primary source depending on the context of your research. For example, if you are doing a research study about how biology teaching has changed through time, then biology textbooks are considered a primary source.
Primary sources can be found both in libraries and archives. Many have been digitized and accessible online while others are only accessible by visiting an archive or getting a print book at the library or through Interlibrary Loan. Explore the tabs on this page to see where and how you can find and access these sources!
Caption: The West India Flower Girl. Engraved color image by Agostino Brunias. C. 1810. Source: NYPL
Definitions:
Not all archival collection is available online so it is important to check the finding aids first to determine if the archive have what you want to access.
Explore these resources following the links below:
Contains the most comprehensive set of declassified government documents available. Includes over 45 collections consisting of over 80,000 meticulously indexed documents, with more than 500,000 total pages. Covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century.
As any primary source used for historical research, be aware of the strengths (first witness accounts) and weakness (bias, forgetfulness, sensationalism) of this type of source.
Historical Newspapers Databases: