HIS 400 Research Methods: Finding Primary Sources

Often referred to as "first hand" accounts, primary sources are original materials. They are from the same time period as the subject being studied and have not been edited or filtered through interpretation.  While a secondary source is an account written after the event which interprets and evaluates the original source, serving as commentary on what happened rather than a record.

Here are some examples of Primary Sources:

Add the primary source type as a keyword in your search. It may look like this: 

"nuclear arms" sources
slavery "personal narratives"
Stalin interview
Ancient greek military maps
"World War II" "primary sources"
"FDR" "speeches"

You can see there are "" marks around phrases or specific names of events.