World History: Primary Sources

Primary Sources are the first hand evidence left behind by participants or observers at the time of events.

• Autobiographies, memoirs, diaries, emails, oral histories
• Letters, correspondence, eyewitness accounts
• First-hand newspaper and magazine accounts of events
• Legal cases, treaties
• Statistics, surveys, opinion polls, scientific data, transcripts
• Records of organizations and government agencies
• Original works of literature, art or music
• Cartoons, postcards, posters
• Maps, photographs, films
• Objects and artifacts that reflect the time period in which they were created

Secondary Sources are materials that digest, analyze, evaluate and interpret information contained within primary sources or other secondary sources.

• Books, such as biographies (not an autobiography), textbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks
• Articles, such as literature reviews, commentaries, research articles in all subject disciplines
• Criticism of works of literature, art and music

Use the Library Catalog for secondary source books, and the databases for journal articles, digital reference books, and other secondary sources.