At times, your professor may require the use of primary resources. This is a type of source that you may not have used before and requires slightly different mechanisms to locate. This guide has been built to provide assistance with locating primary resources in the Houff Library databases.
According to the Library of Congress, "Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects that were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts that retell, analyze, or interpret events, usually at a distance of time or place." As a student you interact most with secondary sources (journal articles) and tertiary sources (your textbook), which analyze or summarize primary sources. Some of the more common examples of primary sources you may come across are:
Citing primary sources somewhat relies on the format, how the material was accessed/published, as well as the copyright status of the material and whether it is in the public domain. For examples on citing different primary source documents, see the Primary Source Examples page.
Stop by the library for any further assistance needed with citations!
For the majority of the research process you will most likely be collecting secondary resources that are created by someone who did not experience the historical event you are researching. Secondary sources offer analysis, commentary, interpretation or synthesis of historical events. Secondary sources are the most common type of resource found in library databases.
For guidance on citing most secondary resources, check out our writing and citing guide:
