Research Guides: History: Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary Sources

For certain assignments you might be asked to use primary sources. Primary sources are works created at the time of an event, or by a person who directly experienced an event.

Don't get too hung up on the format: it is the content that matters, so even an online source can be a primary source. For example, a digitised article featuring primary accounts is still a primary source.

Primary sources can include:

Interviews, diaries, letters, journals, speeches, autobiographies, and witness statements
Original hand-written manuscripts
Government documents and public records
Art, photographs, films, maps, fiction, and music
Newspaper and magazine clippings
Artifacts, buildings, furniture, and clothing

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are works that are written after the original event or experience; they provide criticism or interpretation of the event or experience.

Some examples of secondary sources are:

Textbooks
Biographies
Historical films, music, and art
Articles about people and events from the past

Primary vs Secondary Video

Finding Primary Sources

To find primary sources try using Omni, Advanced Search, Subject contains ...

Use keywords for your topic or historic person along with one of the following words:

archives
charters
correspondence
diaries
documents
interviews
letters
manuscripts
notebooks
oratory
pamphlets
personal narratives
pictorial works
sources [this term is often used for collections of primary sources]
speeches

Examples:

(note that quotation marks are used to search for a phrase)

Digital Collections Purchased or Leased by TMU that Include Primary Sources

Some digital collections from Adam Matthew Digital that may be useful for historical studies follow:

Some of the Alexander Street Press collections may also be useful:

Historical Newspapers are listed on the bottom of the page for Journals and Articles.

English Historical Documents
Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
The Fortunoff Archive currently holds more than 4,400 testimonies. The Fortunoff Archive and its affiliates recorded the testimonies of willing individuals with first-hand experience of the Nazi persecutions, including those who were in hiding, survivors, bystanders, resistants, and liberators. Testimonies were recorded in whatever language the witness preferred, and range in length from 30 minutes to over 40 hours (recorded over several sessions).

A Sampling of Freely Accessible Primary Sources

Many governmental bodies, academic and public libraries, museums, and private organizations are creating digital collections. Often access is free of charge. Use a search engine to look for names of countries, provinces/states, cities, organizations, or individuals AND archives.

CANADA:

UNITED STATES: