Primary and Secondary Sources for History Projects
| Primary Sources | Secondary Sources | Writing Manuals and Handbooks
For many history papers and projects, it is necessary to use both primary and secondary sources. The question is, what is a primary source? And what is a secondary source?
Primary Sources
Primary sources are anything that was produced at the time of the event. An article written in July 1863 about the Battle of Gettysburg would be a primary source. Primary sources come in many different formats, including:
- Autobiographies and memoirs
- Court cases
- Data sets (Census, labor statistics, price indices, etc.)
- Diaries and journals
- Eyewitness reports
- Government documents (treaties, statutes, laws, etc.)
- Government records (births, marriage, death, permits, etc.)
- Interviews
- Letters
- Literature
- Maps
- Music
- Newspaper and magazine articles written at the time
- Organization records
- Photos and art works
- Physical objects (account books, buildings, tools, furniture, clothing, posters, toys, appliances, etc.)
- Speeches
- Video and audio recordings of the events (news footage)
Here are a few examples of primary sources found in the library:
Title: "Pres Kennedy Shot And Killed By Assassin While Riding In Dallas, Tex, Motorcade."
Source: New York Times
Date: November 23, 1963
Location: Central Periodicals
Title: "
Final
Rolls Of Citizens And Freedman Of The Five Civilized Tribes In Indian Territory (As Approved By The Secretary Of The Interior On Or Before
March 4, 1907, With Supplements Dated September 25, 1914)"
Author: United States. Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes
Date: 1914
Location: Schusterman Genealogy 970.00497 U582f 1961 Microfilm
Title: The
Blindfold Horse: Memories of a Persian Childhood
Author: Shusha Guppy
Date: 1988
Call Number: 955.0520924 G959a 1988
Title: "Map
Of The State Of Illinois Showing Areal Type Classification For Wells
In The Illinois Coal Basin, Prepared By E.F. Taylor And G.H. Cady."
Author: Earle F. Taylor
Date: 1942
Call Number: 557.3 I29ci no.85
Title: Presidential
Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Herbert Hoover: containing the public messages, speeches, and statements of the
president, March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1933.
Source: Herbert Hoover
Location: Central Government Documents
Call Number: AE 2.114
Primary sources can be found in many places including libraries, museums, and historical societies. The library has several primary sources periodicals. The Internet is another a good resource for tracking down primary sources. Below are several websites that have scanned images of diaries, photographs, letters, and many other primary documents.
Title: American Memory
URL: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem
Description: Library of Congress website containing thousands of photos, prints, sound recordings, film clips, maps, and other documents.
Title: Making of America
URL: http://moa.umdl.umich.edu/index.html
Description: Thousands of journal articles and books from the periods of the antebellum through reconstruction.
Title: National Archives and Records Administration
URL: http://www.archives.gov
Description: The National Archives contains over 100,000 digital images of documents and photos.
Title: Ad*Access
URL: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/
Description: Several thousand advertisements from magazines and newspapers from 1911 to 1955.
Title: World War II Resources
URL: http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/
Description: Covers all aspects of the war from all countries involved including speeches, government declarations, and more.
Title: Nazi and East German Propaganda
URL: http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/
Description: Collection of English translations of propaganda from Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic.
Title: Women's Archives
URL: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/women/digital.html
Description: Collection of documents from African American women, Civil War women and the Women's Liberation Movement.
Title: Documenting the American South
URL: http://docsouth.unc.edu/
Description: Documents of history, literature, and culture of the South from colonial times through the early 1900s.
Title: New Deal Network
URL: http://newdeal.feri.org
Description: Documents from the Depression and New Deal era.
Title: A Chronology of U.S. Historical Documents
URL: http://www.law.ou.edu/hist
Description: Documents from colonial days to today, and includes poems, songs, and speeches.
Title: A Web of English History
URL: http://www.historyhome.co.uk
Description: Documents covering English history during the 1800s.
Title: Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674 to 1834
URL: http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
Description: A searchable database of over 100,000 criminal trials involving everyday people at London's central criminal court.
Title: Ancient History Sourcebook
URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html
Description: Scanned and transcribed documents from Ancient times, including works from Egypt, Persia, and Rome.
Title: Medieval History Sourcebook
URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
Description: Scanned and transcribed documents from Medieval times, including works dealing with Byzantium, the Crusades, and the Renaissance.
Title: Modern History Sourcebook
URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html
Description: Scanned and transcribed documents from the Reformation to the 21st century.
Title: EuroDocs: Historical Documents from Western Europe
URL: http://library.byu.edu/~rdh/eurodocs/
Description: Translations, facsimiles, and transcriptions of documents from Andorra to the Vatican City.
Title: Online Medieval & Classical Library
URL: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/
Description: Collection of literary works from the Classical and Medieval eras.
Title: Documenting a Democracy: Australia
URL: http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/
Description: Documents cover the history of the government of Australia.
Title: African National Congress
URL: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/
Description: Collection of documents about the ANC, by the ANC, and about its allies.
Title: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
URL: http://www.proni.gov.uk
Description: Depository of public records in Northern Ireland, dating back to 1219, with most from 1600 to the present.
Title: Office of National Statistics-UK
URL: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/
Description: Provides a wide range of economic and social statistics for the United Kingdom.
Title: Perry Castañeda Library Maps-University of Texas
URL: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/index.html
Description: Online images of maps from all over the world, including historic and modern maps.
Title: Jewish History Resource Center
URL: http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/dinur/
Description: The Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History has over 6000 links dealing with Jewish history worldwide.
Title: Commonwealth War Graves Commission
URL: http://www.cwgc.org/
Description: Database listing the men and women of the Commonwealth (UK) forces who died during WWI and WWII, and
also the civilians who died as a result of enemy action in WWII.
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources are works that analyze or interpret historical events. The author uses primary sources and research to compose the secondary work. A magazine article about the Battle of Gettysburg that was written in 1988 would be a secondary source. Examples of secondary sources include:
- Almanacs
- Biographies
- Chronologies
- Commentaries
- Criticism and interpretation
- Dictionaries
- Directories
- Dissertations and Thesis
- Encyclopedias
- Handbooks and manuals
- History books
- Review articles (literature, books, film, etc.)
- Scholarly journals
- Textbooks
A few secondary sources found in the Tulsa City-County Library:
Title: The Encyclopedia of American Soccer
History.
Editor: Roger Allaway, Colin Jose, and David Litterer
Call Number: 796.334 A421e 2001
Title: The Almanac of Canadian Politics.
Editor: Munroe Eagles
Call Number: 324.9710648 A445 1995
Title: Journal of Asian Martial Arts
Location: Central Library Periodicals Department
Title: The
Wars Of The Roses: Through The Lives Of Five Men And Women Of The Fifteenth Century
Author: Desmond Seward
Call Number: 942.04 S514w 1995
Title: The
Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America
Author: Dale Taylor
Call Number: 973.2 T213w 1997
The library has numerous databases that have both primary and secondary sources. In these databases, you can find newspaper and magazine articles, brief biographies, encyclopedias, and many other sources that can help in completing a project.
Writing Manuals And Handbooks
The library has numerous writing manuals and handbooks that can aid in writing a history paper or any other paper for school.
Title: A
Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
Author: Kate L. Turabian
Call Number: 808.02 T84m 1996
Title: Term
Paper Resource Guide to Twentieth Century United States History
Author: Robert Mucciogrosso
Call Number: 973.9 M88t 1999
Title: 12
Easy Steps to Successful Research Papers
Author: Nell Meriwether
Call Number: 808.02 M545t 1997
Title: The
Essential Guide to Writing Research Papers
Author: James D. Lester
Call Number: 808.02 L567e 1999
Title: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Author: Joseph Gibaldi
Call Number: 808 G35m 1999
Title: Research Paper Step-by-Step: Simplified Method of Learning the Research Process
Author: Edgar C. Alward
Call Number: Y 808.02 A477r 1998
Title: Elements of Style
Author: William Strunk
Call Number: 808 S92e 2000
Title: How to Write a Term Paper
Author: Nancy Everhart
Call Number: 808.02 E93h 1994
Title: The
Little, Brown Guide to Writing Research Papers
Author: Michael Meyer
Call Number: 371.302812 M575L 1994
Title: Using the Internet, Online Services & CD-ROMS for
Writing Research and Term Papers
Editor: Charles Harmon
Call Number: 371.30281 U85 1996
Title: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Call Number: 808.06615 P96 2001