Judith Downie
Humanities Librarian
CSUSM Library
KEL 3424
760-750-4374
jdownie@csusm.edu |
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In many disciplines, you need to locate primary resources for your
research. Although the definition of what constitutes a primary (or
secondary) source can vary dependent on the discipline,
this is a general guide in
locating the needed material. A key factor in determining
whether something is primary is to ask yourself “Is this
firsthand (letters, diaries, research data) material?”
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| Primary sources may be in book form but can
be much more than books. Maps, images, and first-hand
newspaper accounts or interviews can also
be used for primary source materials. Other materials such
as music, movies made during the time period and
advertisements may also meet your needs. Also,
government-created materials
such as census data and statistics, treaties,
and legislation are rich sources for the
researcher looking for primary sources.
On the other hand, secondary
sources
are later
interpretations of events, such as biographies based on diaries and
correspondence. Due to being written after the event, these works are
likely to contain interpretation, commentary, and criticism not
available at the time of the event and therefore are not ‘raw’
firsthand experience or narration.
Even more
removed from the primary source is the tertiary source.
A distillation of primary and
secondary sources, but still must be based in fact and not rumor or
hearsay if it is to be used for research in your paper.
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DOCUMENT TYPES |
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| Primary |
Secondary |
Tertiary |
Newspaper reports
Interviews
Oral histories
Autobiographies
Diaries
Original artwork or photographs
Letters and correspondence
Literature and fiction
Transcripts
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Biographies
Criticism and interpretation
History and criticism
Scholarly Books (Monographs)
Bibliographies
Journal articles (unless reporting original research and methodology)
Literature criticism |
Encyclopedias
Guidebooks
Handbooks, manuals
Almanacs
Tables
Bibliographies
Indexes
Abstracts |
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Books |
| Think about your topic and write a list of possible words
to search, including variations in spelling and names.
Writing has changed over time and primary source documents might not be using
spelling as you use it now. The Oxford English Dictionary
(in the Reference area and online in Research Databases) traces the
changes in a word and could be useful.
Secondary sources such as encyclopedias and some books are a good place to start
your research. Although they are not primary documents,
many times the bibliographies contain references to primary sources.
To locate primary source documents in the
library catalog, use your topic term with another word that
describes the type of document you want to find. A sample
search would be for pioneer women's diaries of their
experiences traveling west. The search strategy could be
typed up using the wildcard asterick (*). It would look like
this: wom*n and pioneer* and diar*. This tells the
computer you are looking for the terms:
woman or women and
pioneer or pioneers or pioneering, and
diary or diaries in the book record.
You will get more results from one search
and save time as opposed to searching each combination of
the full words separately. Seven items came back in the
CSUSM catalog on this search, while only two came back on
the search for woman and pioneer and diary. |
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Databases
Note that CD databases ( )
are available only in the Library. Some databases do not
offer full text of the articles. Use the
 button
to check our other resources for full text.
Accessible Archives
A good source for 19th Century American History; includes newspapers on the Civil War and African Americans.
Coverage: 1728→1900 Documenting the American South
A collection of primary source documents on Southern U.S. history, literature and culture.
Coverage: 1734→current Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 
Historical Statistics - currently being tested
Coverage: 1600→1970 In the First Person
A collection of 2,500 oral histories in English, most in full-text online, from around the world.
Coverage: 1930→current Indian Question
A good CD-ROM covering Native American history, including primary source materials (eyewitness accounts of native life), treaties in full-text, and government reports on Indian civil rights.
Coverage: 1780→1970 Los Angeles Times (1881-1986)
Search the LA Times going back to the first issue, with image reproductions of each page.
Coverage: 1881→1986 Making of America Project (University of Michigan)
A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction (19th century imprints). Focuses more on books.
Coverage: 1850→1877 New York Public Library Digital Library Collection
The Digital Library Collections provide the public with digital versions of books, manuscripts and photographs, representing a growing body of primary source material.
Coverage: 1800→1969 Victorian Women Writers Project
Features the works of British women from the Victorian period (1830-1910), including anthologies, novels, political pamphlets, religious tracts, children's books, and volumes of poetry and verse drama.
Coverage: 1830→1910
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Select Print Resources
Here is a sampling of the primary source
collections CSUSM has in print.
Microfilm and fiche
Early American Imprints, First
Series.
A microfiche collection begun
by Charles Evans to create a bibliographic
record of all material printed in the
Colonies and United States prior to 1800.
Individual titles are indexed in the library
catalog and the full-text collection is held in
the Microfiche collection at C-498.
National Index of American Imprints
Through 1800: The Short-Title Evans.
Also known as the American Bibliography
(and its supplement), the microfiche is
held at C-497. A print index by title and author is located
on the top of the microfiche cabinet but the library
catalog will provide subject access as
well as title and author access.
Early American Newspapers
(Microfilm Collection F-47) Click
here to view the 22
titles and coverage.
Los Angeles Times
(1881- on)
New York Times (1857-on)
San Diego Union Tribune (1871-on)
Note this title has had several changes over the years.
Wall Street Journal (1980-on)
Books
Abortion controversy: A documentary
history
Stacks KF3771 .A7 A26 1994
Annals of America
Reference E173 .A793
Debating the issues in colonial
newspapers: Primary documents on events
of the period
Stacks E187 .C78 2000
French Revolution: A document
collection
Stacks DC141 .M37 1999
Historic Documents
Reference E839.5 .H57 (CSUSM's set begins with 1972)
Presidents from Washington through
Monroe, 1789-1825: Debating the issues
in pro and con primary documents
Stacks E176.1 .S927 2002
Western societies: Primary sources
in social history
Stacks HN8 .W44 1993
Women through women's eyes: Latin
American women in nineteenth-century travel
accounts
Stacks at HQ1460.5 .W65 1998
Need More?
If material you
locate does not clearly fit into one of the categories, assume it is not
a primary source—but always consult with your instructor or a librarian
for further help.
Judith Downie,
Humanities Librarian
(760) 750-4374 OR come by my office (KEL 3424), I
am available if my door is open (most of the time).
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