Primary Sources

Your professor may ask you to find Primary Sources for your research. So what exactly are primary sources?

Primary Sources are original documents and recordings from historical events, people, and groups. These are often first-hand accounts of historical events.

Examples include personal notebooks, photographs, manuscripts, business records, original research, and correspondence.

Secondary Sources are professionally written summary accounts of research or historical events, which sometimes reference primary sources.

Examples include newspaper articles, scholarly journal articles, documentaries, as well as some books.

Tertiary Sources give a broad overview of a particular topic, often by summarizing other research and resources.

Examples include encyclopedias, textbooks, timelines, exhibits, review articles, as well as some books and databases.

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Research Guides

These guides contain helpful information for finding, understanding, using, and citing primary sources.

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Africana Studies: Primary vs. Secondary Sources Theology: Primary Sources English: Primary vs. Secondary Sources Archives: Finding Aids Archives: Requesting Materials Archives: Digital Collections

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Primary Source Databases Digitized Archival Collections Archival Finding Aids

Featured Primary Source Database

Gale Primary Sources

The Gale Primary Sources database includes primary sources from four sub-collections:

American Historical Periodicals from the American Antiquarian Society: Learn about life in America from colonialism through the twentieth century. Includes American Antiquarian Society periodicals.

Archives Unbound: Gain access to rare primary source documents with these topically focused digital collections. Supports academic research.

Eighteenth Century Collections Online: Search and explore full-text digital versions of eighteenth-century book titles

Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Discover primary source collections of the long nineteenth century. Sourced from almost one hundred major world libraries.

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Featured Primary Source Database

Georgia Historic Newspapers

The Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG), a part of Georgia’s Virtual Library GALILEO and is based at the University of Georgia Libraries.

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Featured Primary Source Database

African-American Newspapers: The 19th Century

Collection of African American newspapers containing information about cultural life and history during the 1800s and first-hand reports of the major events and issues of the day, including the Mexican War, Presidential and Congressional addresses, Congressional abstracts, business and commodity markets, the humanities, world travel and religion. Also provides early biographies, vital statistics, essays and editorials, poetry and prose, and advertisements all of which embody the African-American experience.

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