Primary Sources Identifying Locating Studying Presented by Elizabeth Tousignant for TRITEC
What is a Primary Source? A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. Some types of primary sources include: ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS (excerpts or translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama, novels, music, art RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings
Examples of primary sources include: Diary of Anne Frank - Experiences of a Jewish family during WWII The Constitution of Canada - Canadian History A journal article reporting NEW research or findings Weavings and pottery - Native American history Plato's Republic - Women in Ancient Greece
What is a Secondary Source? A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. Some types of secondary sources include: PUBLICATIONS: Textbooks, magazine articles, histories, criticisms, commentaries, encyclopedias
Examples of secondary sources include: A journal/magazine article which interprets or reviews previous findings A history textbook A book about the effects of WWI
Is this a Primary Source?
Online Sources Consult major collections of primary sources. The following reputable sites link to thousands of primary sources: American Memory:American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library Avalon Project:Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy EuroDocs: Western European Primary Historical DocumentsEuroDocs: Gallica:Gallica: Digital Library of the National Library of France Making of America:Making of America: 19th c. books and magazines pubs/usingprimarysources/index.cfm Finding Primary Sources on the Web
BPL department guide Microtext Newspapers Advertisements Government Documents Census data and demographics, voting lists and districts, elections Legislation Passenger lists, ships logs General Reference/Humanities Letters Diaries Journals Poems Prints and Fine Arts Photographs Paintings Drawings (including cartoons)
BPL (cont’d) Social Sciences Political manifestos Kirstein Business Library and Government Documents Salary Information Rare Books and Manuscripts will also have many items, depending on topic and time period bpl.org The best approach is to start using the BPL electronic databases and catalog, e.g., Archive of Americana, Leventhal Map Collection. And, of course, the best resource is working with BPL librarians in each department.
Other Sources NARA Waltham
Citing Sources It is important to provide complete information about your primary source whether found in a printed source or online. The basic elements to include in a citation for a published print source are: author of the document title of the document title of the book if different from the document name of editor or author of the book place of publication publisher year page numbers Also, as a condition of their licensing agreement, some organizations require a credit line for the posted image.
Justice in the New England Colonies What is Justice? What is Injustice? these materials for educational purposes only. The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (19) Rare Book and Special Collections Division
Document Based Questions /written_document_analysis_worksheet.pdf
Elizabeth: