Primary Sources Research Guide

What is a primary source?

Definition

Primary sources come in a wide variety of formats, but they all have one thing in common: they are original, unfiltered materials from a specific time period or event. More detailed definitions of primary sources can be found in the following publications:

• Going to the sources: a guide to historical research and writing
• From reliable sources: an introduction to historical methods
• The historian's toolbox: a student's guide to the theory and craft of history
• Primary source (Wikipedia)

Types of primary sources

Here is a list of common types of primary sources. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list and that there may be other types of primary sources. Explore the links to examples of primary sources in the Library's catalog. Use these links as a starting point to query the catalog for primary sources relevant to your topic. You can replicate the same subject searches in WorldCat, which uses the same Library of Congress subject classification scheme as the Library's catalog. Your results, however, will differ since WorldCat includes library holdings worldwide.

• Diaries
  Diaries, journals and excerpts of diaries are not just found in archives and attics, but can also be published in books. The Library has diaries of famous people, diaries from classes of people such as women or soldiers and diaries from different geographic areas. If you are lucky, you may even be able to find English translations of diaries written in a foreign language.
  

  subject search:  diaries AND "Louis Philippe"
  subject search:  diaries AND women
  subject search:  diaries AND Germany

• Newspapers and magazines
  The Library has access to a large number of newspapers either in digital of microform. Check the catalog for newspapers of interest to your topic and verify whether the Library has access to the relevant time period or browse the list of digitally available newspaper titles and collections available on the Library's web site. You may also be able to request a month or two of a newspaper on microfilm through interlibrary loan.
  

  subject search:  Ireland AND newspapers

• Letters
  Letters are described in the Library of Congress subject thesaurus as -correspondence. Letters published in books can be found with the help of the Library's catalog. Include the names of the correspondents into your search query or search for social status and/or occupation.
  

  lawyers AND "united states" AND correspondence
  soldiers AND correspondence
  Gonne AND Maude AND correspondence

• Autobiographies
  Please note that the Library of Congress subheading -autobiographies is used exclusively for theoretical works about autobiographies. An author search for the research subject is generally the best strategy to discover published autobiographies. The Library's biographical dictionaries often identify published autobiographies. Alternatively, autobriographies can also be found with the terms memoir as part of a keyword search and/or personal narratives as part of a subject search.
  

  author search:  Frederick AND Douglass
  keyword search:  memoirs AND politicians
  subject search:  "personal narratives" AND vietnam

• Personal narratives
  Personal narratives is a catch-all phrase for memoirs and diaries in the Library of Congress subheading scheme.
  

  subject search:  "personal narratives" AND Holocaust
  subject search:  "personal narratives" AND prisoners

• Speeches
  Transcripts of and audio or visual recordings of famous speeches.
  

  subject search:  speeches AND Martin AND Luther AND King

• Travel narratives
  Many travel narratives have been penned with future publication in mind and are hence widely available. Travel narratives may also consist of excerpts from letters and diaries. Include the designated Library of Congress subheading for travel narratives, which is -description and travel into your research query and note the difference in the number of results when using description and travel versus travel narratives:
  

  subject search:  russia AND "description and travel"
  keyword search:  "travel narratives" AND russia

• Sources
  Sources is a widely used Library of Congress subject classification catch-all for all kinds of primary sources.
  

  subject search:  sources AND "cold war"
  subject search:  sources AND suffrage

• Manuscripts
  Research based on manuscripts can result in a substantial investment of time and travel funds since most manuscripts are stored in archives. More and more manuscripts can be found online in digital form today. Many libraries and archives have digitized their rare materials to make them more accessible. Examples include the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Villanova's own digital library. Manuscripts are also available as reprints in published books. The catalog records of such published reprints of manuscripts can include the subheading -early works to 1800. See below for some ideas on how to find manuscripts in the Library's catalog.
  

  subject search: "manuscripts medieval"
  subject search:  manuscripts AND spain
  subject search:  "illuminated books and manuscripts"

• Early works to 1800
  A Library of Congress subject classification catch-all for books written prior to 1800. Note that the catalog record may show a much more recent publication date, since these books are only available as reprints outside of archives.
  

  subject search:  virginia AND "early works to 1800"
  subject search:  reformation AND "early works to 1800"

• Other subheadings for primary sources in the Library of Congress subject thesaurus include interviews, suveys, maps, pamphlets and treaties.

Primary Sources in Falvey

Primary sources come in a wide variety of formats and can be located with the help of many different library resources. Here are a few suggested starting points. This list is not comprehensive and you should consult with your professor or a librarian about other resources.

• The Library's catalog
  Use the suggested Library of Congress primary source subheadings (see above) together with keywords that describe your topic.
• WorldCat
  A catalog of library holdings worldwide. WorldCat will indicate any local library holdings and also offers an inter-library loan request option. WorldCat uses the same Library of Congress subjects as the Library's catalog.
• Dissertations & Theses Full Text
  Find references to difficult to locate primary sources in the extensive bibliographies of dissertations on similar topics.
• Newspapers and magazines available at Falvey
• Primary source collections available at Falvey

Evaluating primary sources

• How to read a primary source
• Evaluating primary sources on the web
• Authenticity
  Research the author and publisher as well as the facts described in the source with due diligence.
• Is it fiction or truth?
  Anything with a P call number should be approached with caution when on the lookout for primary sources. Large parts of the P class are dedicated to fiction. A notable exception in respect to primary sources are autobiographies of writers, which are classed together with his/her works under P.

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