Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories.
These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research.
Add the word "Source" to a subject keyword search to find primary sources.
Other subject keywords that help indicate primary sources:
You can also search terms such as:
Looking at the bibliography of your best research source will show you what primary sources were used, and you can use them too!
Primary source examples include:
(Excerpts or translations can count as primary texts.)
This letter from Herman Melville to his Aunt Lucy Melville, written when he was a boy of nine, can be found in The Osborne Collection in Special Collections at Southwestern University.
For tips on evaluating the veracity and trustworthiness of a primary source, see the guidelines created by the American Library Association's RUSA.
