Research for History Papers Using Primary and Secondary Sources to Study World War I

Primary Sources Documents that give a rich sense of life in the time period, as told by it’s participants Diaries Letters Photographs First-hand accounts Sound recordings Primary sources are manuscripts, first-person diaries, oral histories, letters, interviews, photographs, maps, films, sound recordings, music, song sheets – fragments of history, incomplete in themselves, but when assembled, analyzed, and researched, they can provide personal insights, human drama, and deep historical understandings.

Primary Sources: Photos Primary sources can also be places and people. They are resources that speak directly to the viewer, the reader, and the listener.

Primary sources: Photos Here is Convalescent Hospital #2 at Agay, France.

Primary Sources: Diaries The Personal Diary of Bill Schira March 4, 1918 to July 6, 1919 Bill Schira worked in a field hospital in France during WWI. He kept a personal diary and recorded day by day, a personal account of the war. He came down with a pneumonia. He writes on Oct. 1, 1918, “I am still in the Hospital. I am getting disgusted. There were 2 convoys of patients that came in last night. One was men that were gassed, and the other was all surgical cases. Some men have their arms off, some their legs, and they are all badly shot up. They are all from Verdun Front. I am lying to the Doctor and trying to get out of the Hosp. but I am really not able. Another man died in this Ward this morning from pneumonia. There are 8 or 9 in the morgue now.”

Primary Sources: Letters “A Poet of the Air” Letters of Jack Morris Wright First Lieutenant of American Aviation in France April, 1917 to January, 1918. Jack Morris Wright’s father gathered his letters for publication just as they came in, hoping to share with other readers something of Jack’s fine courage and spirit. Jack died January 24, 1918, his plane was shot down. Here is one of his letters: [read letter to students]

Primary Sources: Maps Maps can also be primary sources. This map shows the Eastern Battle Front in 1915.

Bibliographic or Secondary Sources What other’s have written about a topic books articles from magazines & scholarly journals. Bibliographic or secondary research investigates what others have written about a topic. This is where we would read what historians and scholars have to say. A mixture of primary and secondary sources helps to provide us with a fuller, more accurate and richer picture of the past.

More Secondary Sources

How do historians research? They read books. They get direction from citations in their reading. They use primary sources and back them up with secondary sources. Historians read books and scholarly journals. They look at what the author of the book used as research sources to write the book. They follow the trail of those sources like a detective. They read the books that are cited and form their own conclusions. Historians use a mixture of primary sources and secondary sources in doing research.

Consider as you do research Use both primary and secondary sources to research a topic in history.

How do Scientists Research? Scientists are concerned with the results of other’s research. They go to peer-reviewed journals like Nature to read original research results. **But not every article in Nature or Science Journal will be original research! Primary Source

A Word of Caution: Not every article in the journals will be research articles. Some will include book reviews and other materials that are more obviously secondary sources. (remember, a secondary source is something written about a primary source. secondary sources include comments on, interpretations of, or discussions about the original material). More difficult to differentiate from original articles are review articles. They are not primary sources because they “review” previously published materials.

In the Sciences, primary literature refers to the first place a scientist publishes the results of scientific investigations. The surface of the sun shows rapidly changing patterns due to convection

How can you tell if it’s original research (or a primary source?) Primary research articles use a common format: Look for a methods section (sometimes called materials & methods). Look for results (usually followed with charts & statistical tables). Look for a discussion section. Look for language like “we tested”, “in our study” or “we measured” tell you that the article is reporting original research.

Where the Confusion Begins… The distinction between types of sources can get tricky, because a secondary source may also be a primary source.

Primary or Secondary? Gary Wills’ book about Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, for example, can be looked at as both a secondary and a primary source. The distinction may depend on how you are using the source and the nature of your research. If you are researching about Abraham Lincoln, the book would be a secondary source because Will’s is offering his opinions about Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address. If your assignment is to write a book review of Lincoln at Gettysburg, the book becomes a primary source, because you are commenting, evaluating, and discussing Garry Wills’ ideas.