What is a Primary Source?
A primary source is usually a record made at the time of an event by participants or by firsthand observers, but a primary source might also be created many years after the event in the form of an autobiography, memoir, oral history, published papers, etc. (For example, The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln was originally published in 1953, long after Lincoln's death.)
Examples include, but are not limited to:
- contemporary newspaper or magazine accounts
- diaries, memoirs, or autobiographies
- correspondence
- congressional hearings
- fliers, like this from the National Library of Medicine:
- government reports
- government/organizational archives
- manuscripts (the papers of an individual or family)
Primary sources can be very different for different subjects. If you are writing a paper about an early female physician, for example, then her diary would be a primary source. If you are studying mid-twentieth century diplomatic history between the United States and Iraq, State Department records (such as Confidential U.S. State Department Central Files: Iraq, 1955-1959, available on Microfilm 498) would be a primary source.
If you are unsure what constitutes a primary source for your class, ask your instructor for some ideas. Also see this site from Yale University and this one from the University of Illinois for helpful hints on finding primary sources.
Citing Sources
Citation Manual
Citation Management Tools
- Zotero - free citation management tool. See this handout and this research guide.
- ZoteroBib has a free citation generator; no account or software needed.
Check Secondary Sources!
History and Area Studies Librarian
Lean Library
Lean Library
Lean Library is a browser extension that lets you take the library's online resources with you. If you are searching the general web for resources rather than the library's site, Lean Library will let you know if a resource you are looking at is available through OU libraries, or will directly link you to the ILL page (check out the Don't Buy It, Borrow It page in this guide to learn more about ILLs!). This helps you to avoid paywalls as you browse the web.
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This handout repeats the information about what Lean Library is, how it works, and how to get it. You can use this handout to share about Lean Library with your friends and colleagues!