Primary sources are first-person accounts or direct evidence of the topics or events you are researching. They may include letters, diaries, photographs, autobiographies, records such as birth certificates or land deeds, treaties and other government documents, news footage and eyewitness articles, plays, movies, music, works of art, speeches, interviews, oral histories, memoirs, architectural plans, and many other kinds of artifacts.
Some sources may be considered primary or secondary, depending on how you use them. For example, a 1967 newspaper article about the Supreme Court's decision legalizing interracial marriage in all 50 states that year could be considered a secondary source, because the journalist writing the article did not write the Supreme Court decision himself. But if you are interested in how the decision was portrayed by the media during the civil rights movement, the same article could be considered a primary source as an historical artifact. Watch Newspapers - Primary Source? for more information.
For more information on different types of primary and secondary sources, review the presentation below, and remember: sometimes whether a source counts as primary or secondary depends on how you are using it. When in doubt, ask your professor, or a librarian.
Use OneSearch to find primary sources on a topic. Choose from the search terms listed below and add them to your search to explore what primary source material we have on your topic.
Some of the library databases include primary source materials. When you access these resources from off campus, you will be prompted to log in with your Pipeline username and password.
The following website, created by database company ProQuest, is freely available and will not require a Pipeline login:
You can also find primary source materials through many free websites. View a list of recommended websites on our Resources for Black Studies Research Guide, as well as those listed below.
