History Research > 1: Primary Sources

1A: Types of Primary Sources

Primary sources -- those created at the time of an historical event or era -- are important tools for historical research. They include:

Published documents - books, newspapers, pamphlets, advertisements, laws, etc. Example: The Anti-Slavery Cause of Today Unpublished documents - letters, diaries, financial records, etc. Example: Sales Contract for Indentured Servant Oral traditions and histories Example: American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology Visual documents and artifacts Example: Photographs of Slaves and Slave Life

To learn more about primary sources, see: The Historian's Sources Making Sense of Evidence

1B: Find Primary Sources in the Library Catalog

Use the library catalog to find primary sources held by your library. Search by:

• Author - to find anything written by a historical figure.
• Subject - to find books written about a person, historical event or time period. These sources often contain primary materials.

Words in the subject heading offer clues to primary sources. Some important words to look for are:

• sources
• personal narratives
• archives
• correspondence
• diaries

1C: Research Databases

Library research databases may also include full text of primary source documents. For example, these are available to the Ohio State community:

Annals of American History
Contains over 2,000 primary source documents and 700 pieces of multimedia on American history and culture from 1493-2002. Browse by timeline, author, history topics or search the complete site. Each document includes an introduction that provides background and context.

Historical Newspapers Online
Search for newspaper articles published in The Times of London between 1790 and 1980 (some segments provide full text of articles) and the New York Times, 1863 to 1922.

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