What Are Primary Sources?
Primary sources are first-hand accounts of an event or time in history. Unlike secondary sources (such as journal articles), primary sources don't provide any analysis or interpretation. Think of them as a sort of raw material, not yet evaluated by another person.
Primary sources are especially useful for researchers because they reveal how certain topics and ideas were understood during a specific time and place. The primary sources that you might use in your research can vary a lot based on your field of study. This guide aims to provide helpful information
In historical studies, these include sources of information from people who were participants or direct witnesses to the events in question. Examples:
- Diaries, journals, personal narratives
- Oral histories
- Photographs
- Correspondence, letters
- Speeches, oral histories
- Newspaper accounts
- Census data
- Government records
- Maps
- Pamphlets, ephemera
- Memoirs and autobiographies
