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Primarysource
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Primarysourcesareoriginalmaterialsthathavenotbeenalteredor
distortedinanyway.[1]Informationforwhichthewriterhasno
personalknowledgeisnotprimary,althoughitmaybeusedby
historiansintheabsenceofaprimarysource.Inthestudyofhistory
asanacademicdiscipline,aprimarysource(alsocalledoriginal
sourceorevidence)isanartifact,adocument,arecording,orother
sourceofinformationthatwascreatedatthetimeunderstudy.It
servesasanoriginalsourceofinformationaboutthetopic.Similar
definitionsareusedinlibraryscience,andotherareasof
scholarship,althoughdifferentfieldshavesomewhatdifferent
definitions.[2]Injournalism,aprimarysourcecanbeapersonwith
directknowledgeofasituation,oradocumentwrittenbysucha
person.
Thiswallpaintingfoundinthe

Primarysourcesaredistinguishedfromsecondarysources,which
RomancityofPompeiiisanexample
cite,commenton,orbuilduponprimarysources.Generally,
ofaprimarysourceaboutpeoplein
accountswrittenafterthefactwiththebenefitofhindsightare
PompeiiinRomantimes.(Portraitof
secondary.[3]Asecondarysourcemayalsobeaprimarysource
PaquiusProculo)
[4]
dependingonhowitisused. Forexampleamemoirwouldbe
consideredaprimarysourceinresearchconcerningitsauthororabouthisorherfriendscharacterized
withinit,butthesamememoirwouldbeasecondarysourceifitwereusedtoexaminethecultureinwhich
itsauthorlived.[5]"Primary"and"secondary"shouldbeunderstoodasrelativeterms,withsources
categorizedaccordingtospecifichistoricalcontextsandwhatisbeingstudied.[6]:118246[7]

Contents
1Thesignificanceofsourceclassification
1.1Historyandhistoriography
1.2Otherfields
2Findingprimarysources
3Usingprimarysources
4Strengthsandweaknessesofprimarysources
5Classifyingsources
6Forgeries
7Seealso
8References
9Externallinks

Thesignificanceofsourceclassification
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Historyandhistoriography
Inscholarlywriting,animportantobjectiveof
classifyingsourcesistodeterminetheir
independenceandreliability.[7]Incontexts
suchashistoricalwriting,itisalmostalways
advisabletouseprimarysourcesandthat"if
noneareavailable,itisonlywithgreatcaution
that[theauthor]mayproceedtomakeuseof
FromaletterofPhilipII,KingofSpain,16thcentury
secondarysources."[8]Sreedharanbelieves
thatprimarysourceshavethemostdirect
connectiontothepastandthatthey"speakforthemselves"inwaysthatcannotbecapturedthroughthe
filterofsecondarysources.[9]

Otherfields
Inscholarlywriting,theobjectiveofclassifyingsourcesistodeterminetheindependenceandreliabilityof
sources.[7]Thoughthetermsprimarysourceandsecondarysourceoriginatedinhistoriographyasawayto
tracethehistoryofhistoricalideas,theyhavebeenappliedtomanyotherfields.Forexample,theseideas
maybeusedtotracethehistoryofscientifictheories,literaryelementsandotherinformationthatispassed
fromoneauthortoanother.
Inscientificliterature,aprimarysourceistheoriginalpublicationofascientist'snewdata,resultsand
theories.Inpoliticalhistory,primarysourcesaredocumentssuchasofficialreports,speeches,pamphlets,
posters,orlettersbyparticipants,officialelectionreturnsandeyewitnessaccounts.Inthehistoryofideasor
intellectualhistory,themainprimarysourcesarebooks,essaysandletterswrittenbyintellectualsthese
intellectualsmayincludehistorians,whosebooksandessaysarethereforeconsideredprimarysourcesfor
theintellectualhistorian,thoughtheyaresecondarysourcesintheirowntopicalfields.Inreligioushistory,
theprimarysourcesarereligioustextsanddescriptionsofreligiousceremoniesandrituals.[10]
Astudyofculturalhistorycouldincludefictionalsourcessuchasnovelsorplays.Inabroadersense
primarysourcesalsoincludeartifactslikephotographs,newsreels,coins,paintingsorbuildingscreatedat
thetime.Historiansmayalsotakearchaeologicalartifactsandoralreportsandinterviewsinto
consideration.Writtensourcesmaybedividedintothreetypes.[11]
Narrativesourcesorliterarysourcestellastoryormessage.Theyarenotlimitedtofictional
sources(whichcanbesourcesofinformationforcontemporaryattitudes)butincludediaries,films,
biographies,leadingphilosophicalworksandscientificworks.
Diplomaticsourcesincludechartersandotherlegaldocumentswhichusuallyfollowasetformat.
Socialdocumentsarerecordscreatedbyorganizations,suchasregistersofbirthsandtaxrecords.
Inhistoriography,whenthestudyofhistoryissubjecttohistoricalscrutiny,asecondarysourcebecomesa
primarysource.Forabiographyofahistorian,thathistorian'spublicationswouldbeprimarysources.
Documentaryfilmscanbeconsideredasecondarysourceorprimarysource,dependingonhowmuchthe
filmmakermodifiestheoriginalsources.[12]
TheLafayetteCollegeLibrary,providesasynopsisofprimarysourcesinseveralareasofstudy:
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"Thedefinitionofaprimarysourcevariesdependingupontheacademicdisciplineandthe
contextinwhichitisused.
Inthehumanities,aprimarysourcecouldbedefinedassomethingthatwascreatedeither
duringthetimeperiodbeingstudiedorafterwardbyindividualsreflectingontheir
involvementintheeventsofthattime.
Inthesocialsciences,thedefinitionofaprimarysourcewouldbeexpandedtoinclude
numericaldatathathasbeengatheredtoanalyzerelationshipsbetweenpeople,events,
andtheirenvironment.
Inthenaturalsciences,aprimarysourcecouldbedefinedasareportoforiginalfindings
orideas.Thesesourcesoftenappearintheformofresearcharticleswithsectionson
methodsandresults."[13]

Findingprimarysources
Althoughmanydocumentsthatareprimarysourcesremaininprivatehands,theusuallocationforthemis
anarchive.Thesecanbepublicorprivate.Documentsrelatingtooneareaareusuallyspreadoveralarge
numberofdifferentarchives.Thesecanbedistantfromtheoriginalsourceofthedocument.Forexample,
theHuntingtonLibraryinCaliforniahousesalargenumberofdocumentsfromtheUnitedKingdom.
IntheUS,digitalcopiesofprimarysourcescanberetrievedfromanumberofplaces.TheLibraryof
CongressmaintainsseveralonlineDigitalCollectionswheretheycanberetrieved.Examplesoftheseare
AmericanMemory(http://www.memory.loc.gov)andthePrintsandPhotographsOnlineCatalog(PPOC)
(http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/pphome.html).TheNationalArchivesandRecordsAdministrationalsohassuch
atool,calledAccesstoArchivalDatabases(AAD)(http://aad.archives.gov/aad/).
IntheUK,theNationalArchivesprovidesaconsolidatedsearchofitsowncatalogueandawidevarietyof
otherarchiveslistedontheAccesstoArchivesindex.Digitalcopiesofvariousclassesofdocumentsatthe
NationalArchives(includingwills)areavailablefromDocumentsOnline.Mostoftheavailabledocuments
relatetoEnglandandWales.SomedigitalcopiesofprimarysourcesareavailablefromtheNational
ArchivesofScotland.ManyCountyRecordOfficescollectionsareincludedinAccesstoArchives,while
othershavetheirownonlinecatalogues.ManyCountyRecordOfficeswillsupplydigitalcopiesof
documents.

Usingprimarysources
Historyasanacademicdisciplineisbasedonprimarysources,asevaluatedbythecommunityofscholars,
whoreporttheirfindingsinbooks,articlesandpapers.ArthurMarwicksays"Primarysourcesare
absolutelyfundamentaltohistory."[14]Ideally,ahistorianwilluseallavailableprimarysourcesthatwere
createdbythepeopleinvolvedatthetimebeingstudied.Inpracticesomesourceshavebeendestroyed,
whileothersarenotavailableforresearch.Perhapstheonlyeyewitnessreportsofaneventmaybe
memoirs,autobiographies,ororalinterviewstakenyearslater.Sometimestheonlyevidencerelatingtoan
eventorpersoninthedistantpastwaswrittenorcopieddecadesorcenturieslater.Manuscriptsthatare
sourcesforclassicaltextscanbecopiesofdocuments,orfragmentsofcopiesofdocuments.Thisisa

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commonprobleminclassicalstudies,wheresometimesonlyasummaryofabookorletterhassurvived.
Potentialdifficultieswithprimarysourceshavetheresultthathistoryisusuallytaughtinschoolsusing
secondarysources.
Historiansstudyingthemodernperiodwiththeintentionofpublishinganacademicarticleprefertogoback
toavailableprimarysourcesandtoseeknew(inotherwords,forgottenorlost)ones.Primarysources,
whetheraccurateornot,offernewinputintohistoricalquestionsandmostmodernhistoryrevolvesaround
heavyuseofarchivesandspecialcollectionsforthepurposeoffindingusefulprimarysources.Aworkon
historyisnotlikelytobetakenseriouslyasscholarshipifitonlycitessecondarysources,asitdoesnot
indicatethatoriginalresearchhasbeendone.[6]
However,primarysourcesparticularlythosefrombeforethe20thcenturymayhavehiddenchallenges.
"Primarysources,infact,areusuallyfragmentary,ambiguousandverydifficulttoanalyseand
interpret."[14]Obsoletemeaningsoffamiliarwordsandsocialcontextareamongthetrapsthatawaitthe
newcomertohistoricalstudies.Forthisreason,theinterpretationofprimarytextsistypicallytaughtaspart
ofanadvancedcollegeorpostgraduatehistorycourse,althoughadvancedselfstudyorinformaltrainingis
alsopossible.
Thefollowingquestionsareaskedaboutprimarysources:
Whatisthetone?
Whoistheintendedaudience?
Whatisthepurposeofthepublication?
Whatassumptionsdoestheauthormake?
Whatarethebasesoftheauthor'sconclusions?
Doestheauthoragreeordisagreewithotherauthorsofthesubject?
Doesthecontentagreewithwhatyouknoworhavelearnedabouttheissue?
Wherewasthesourcemade?(questionsofsystemicbias)

Strengthsandweaknessesofprimarysources
Inmanyfieldsandcontexts,suchashistoricalwriting,itisalmostalwaysadvisabletouseprimarysources
ifpossible,andthat"ifnoneareavailable,itisonlywithgreatcautionthat[theauthor]mayproceedto
makeuseofsecondarysources."[8]Inaddition,primarysourcesavoidtheprobleminherentinsecondary
sources,whereeachnewauthormaydistortandputtheirownspinonthefindingsofpriorcitedauthors.[15]
However,aprimarysourceisnotnecessarilymoreofanauthorityorbetterthanasecondarysource.There
canbebiasandothertacticusedtotwisthistoricalinformation.
"Originalmaterialmaybe...prejudiced,oratleastnotexactlywhatitclaimstobe."
DavidIredale[16]
Theseerrorsmaybecorrectedinsecondarysources,whichareoftensubjectedtopeerreview,canbewell
documented,andareoftenwrittenbyhistoriansworkingininstitutionswheremethodologicalaccuracyis
importanttothefutureoftheauthor'scareerandreputation.Historiansconsidertheaccuracyand
objectivenessoftheprimarysourcestheyareusingandhistorianssubjectbothprimaryandsecondary
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sourcestoahighlevelofscrutiny.Aprimarysourcesuchasajournalentry(ortheonlineversion,ablog),
atbest,mayonlyreflectoneindividual'sopiniononevents,whichmayormaynotbetruthful,accurate,or
complete.
Participantsandeyewitnessesmaymisunderstandeventsordistorttheirreports(deliberatelyor
unconsciously)toenhancetheirownimageorimportance.Sucheffectscanincreaseovertime,aspeople
createanarrativethatmaynotbeaccurate.[17]Foranysource,primaryorsecondary,itisimportantforthe
researchertoevaluatetheamountanddirectionofbias.[18]Asanexample,agovernmentreportmaybean
accurateandunbiaseddescriptionofevents,butitcanbecensoredoralteredforpropagandaorcoverup
purposes.Thefactscanbedistortedtopresenttheopposingsidesinanegativelight.Barristersaretaught
thatevidenceinacourtcasemaybetruthful,butitmaybedistortedtosupport(oroppose)thepositionof
oneoftheparties.

Classifyingsources
Manysourcescanbeconsideredeitherprimaryorsecondary,dependingonthecontextinwhichtheyare
examined.[7]Moreover,thedistinctionbetweenprimaryandsecondarysourcesissubjectiveand
contextual,[19]sothatprecisedefinitionsaredifficulttomake.[20]Abookreview,whenitcontainsthe
opinionoftherevieweraboutthebookratherthanasummaryofthebook,becomesaprimarysource.[21][22]
Ifahistoricaltextdiscussesolddocumentstoderiveanewhistoricalconclusion,itisconsideredtobea
primarysourceforthenewconclusion.Examplesinwhichasourcecanbebothprimaryandsecondary
includeanobituary[23]orasurveyofseveralvolumesofajournalcountingthefrequencyofarticlesona
certaintopic.[23]
Whetherasourceisregardedasprimaryorsecondaryinagivencontextmaychange,dependinguponthe
presentstateofknowledgewithinthefield.[24]Forexample,ifadocumentreferstothecontentsofa
previousbutundiscoveredletter,thatdocumentmaybeconsidered"primary",sinceitistheclosestknown
thingtoanoriginalsourcebutiftheletterislaterfound,itmaythenbeconsidered"secondary"[25]
Insomeinstances,thereasonforidentifyingatextasthe"primarysource"maydevolvefromthefactthat
nocopyoftheoriginalsourcematerialexists,orthatitistheoldestextantsourcefortheinformation
cited.[26]

Forgeries
Historiansmustoccasionallycontendwithforgeddocumentsthatpurporttobeprimarysources.These
forgerieshaveusuallybeenconstructedwithafraudulentpurpose,suchaspromulgatinglegalrights,
supportingfalsepedigrees,orpromotingparticularinterpretationsofhistoricevents.Theinvestigationof
documentstodeterminetheirauthenticityisdiplomatics.
Forcenturies,PopesusedtheforgedDonationofConstantinetobolsterthePapacy'ssecularpower.Among
theearliestforgeriesarefalseAngloSaxoncharters,anumberof11thand12thcenturyforgeriesproduced
bymonasteriesandabbeystosupportaclaimtolandwheretheoriginaldocumenthadbeenlostornever
existed.OneparticularlyunusualforgeryofaprimarysourcewasperpetratedbySirEdwardDering,who
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placedfalsemonumentalbrassesinaparishchurch.[27]In1986,HughTrevorRoper"authenticated"the
HitlerDiaries,whichwerelaterprovedtobeforgeries.Recently,forgeddocumentshavebeenplaced
withintheUKNationalArchivesinthehopeofestablishingafalseprovenance.[28][29]However,historians
dealingwithrecentcenturiesrarelyencounterforgeriesofanyimportance.[6]:2225

Seealso
Archivalresearch
Historiography
Sourcecriticism
Sourceliterature
Sourcetext
Historicaldocument

Secondarysource
Tertiarysource
Originalresearch
UNISISTmodel
Scientificjournalism
Scholarlymethod

References
1. "Primarysources(http://libguides.jcu.edu.au/primary)".JamesCookUniversity.
2. "PrimaryvsSecondary"(http://www.lib.odu.edu/genedinfolit/1infobasics/primary_vs_secondary.html).Old
DominionUniversityLibraries.September2012.Retrieved20June2013.
3. "Primary,secondaryandtertiarysources(http://www.lib.umd.edu/ues/guides/primarysources)".University
Libraries,UniversityofMaryland.(accessed16Jul2013)
4. "Primaryandsecondarysources(http://www.ithacalibrary.com/sp/subjects/primary)".IthacaCollegeLibrary.
5. Lamb,David."FindingandUsingSources:ABriefGuide(http://www.academicwritingtutor.com/findingusing
sourcesbriefguide/)".AcademicWritingTutor.Retrieved15September2013.
6. OscarHandlinandArthurMeierSchlesinger,HarvardGuidetoAmericanHistory(1954)
7. Kragh,Helge(1989).AnIntroductiontotheHistoriographyofScience(http://books.google.com/books?
id=d2zy_QSq2b0C&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=%22secondary+source%22+historiography).Cambridge
UniversityPress.p.121.ISBN0521389216."[T]hedistinctionisnotasharpone.Sinceasourceisonlya
sourceinaspecifichistoricalcontext,thesamesourceobjectcanbebothaprimaryorsecondarysource
accordingtowhatitisusedfor."
8. Cipolla,CarloM.(1992).BetweenTwoCultures:AnIntroductiontoEconomicHistory
(http://books.google.com/?id=GIqRTlepwmoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cipolla).W.W.Norton&Co.p.27.
ISBN9780393308167.
9. Sreedharan,E.(2004).ATextbookofHistoriography,500B.C.toA.D.2000(http://books.google.com/books?
id=AIGq85RVvdoC&pg=PA302&dq=historiography+%22primary+source%22+%22secondary+source%22).
OrientLongman.p.302.ISBN8125026576."itisthroughtheprimarysourcesthatthepastindisputably
imposesitsrealityonthehistorian.Thatthisimpositionisbasicinanyunderstandingofthepastisclearfrom
therulesthatdocumentsshouldnotbealtered,orthatanymaterialdamagingtoahistorian'sargumentorpurpose
shouldnotbeleftoutorsuppressed.Theserulesmeanthatthesourcesorthetextsofthepasthaveanintegrity
andthattheydoindeed'speakforthemselves',andthattheyarenecessaryconstraintsthroughwhichpastreality
imposesitselfonthehistorian."
10. "PrimarySourcesReligion"(http://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/content.php?pid=60919&sid=447878).
ResearchGuidesatTuftsUniversity.26August2014.Retrieved15January2014.
11. Howell,MarthaC.Prevenier,Walter.(2001).Fromreliablesources:anintroductiontohistoricalmethod.
Ithaca,N.Y.:CornellUniversityPress.pp.2022.ISBN0801485606.
12. Cripps,Thomas(1995)."HistoricalTruth:AnInterviewwithKenBurns".AmericanHistoricalReview(The
AmericanHistoricalReview,Vol.100,No.3)100(3):741764.doi:10.2307/2168603
(https://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F2168603).JSTOR2168603(https://www.jstor.org/stable/2168603).
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13. "PrimarySources:whatarethey?"(http://library.lafayette.edu/help/primary/definitions).LafayetteCollege
Library.
14. Marwick,Arthur."PrimarySources:HandlewithCare".InSourcesandMethodsforFamilyandCommunity
Historians:AHandbookeditedbyMichaelDrakeandRuthFinnegan.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,
1997.ISBN052146580X
15. Ross,JeffreyIan(2004)."TakingStockofResearchMethodsandAnalysisonOppositionalPoliticalTerrorism".
TheAmericanSociologist35(2):2637.doi:10.1007/BF02692395(https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2FBF02692395).
"Theanalysisofsecondarysourceinformationisproblematic.Thefurtheraninvestigatorisfromtheprimary
source,themoredistortedtheinformationmaybe.Again,eachnewpersonmayputhisorherspinonthe
findings."
16. Iredale,David(1973).Enjoyingarchives:whattheyare,wheretofindthem,howtousethem.NewtonAbbot,
DavidandCharles,.ISBN0715356690.
17. BarbaraW.SommerandMaryKayQuinlan,TheOralHistoryManual(2002)
18. LibraryofCongress,"AnalysisofPrimarySources"online2007
(http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/analyze.html)
19. Dalton&Charnigo2004,p.419n.18.
20. Delgadillo,RobertoLynch,Beverly(1999)."FutureHistorians:TheirQuestforInformation"
(http://crl.acrl.org/content/60/3/245.full.pdf+html)(PDF).College&ResearchLibraries:245259,at253."[T]he
samedocumentcanbeaprimaryorasecondarysourcedependingontheparticularanalysisthehistorianis
doing."
21. Princeton(2011)."Bookreviews"(http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=book%20review).Scholarly
definitiondocument.Princeton.Retrieved22September2011.
22. VirginiaPolytechnicInstituteandStateUniversity(2011)."Bookreviews"
(http://www.lib.vt.edu/find/byformat/bookreviews.html).Scholarlydefinitiondocument.VirginiaPolytechnic
InstituteandStateUniversity.Retrieved22September2011.
23. Duffin,Jacalyn(1999).HistoryofMedicine:AScandalouslyShortIntroduction(http://books.google.com/?
id=__oDQ6yDO7kC&pg=PA366&dq=%22secondary+source%22+historiography).UniversityofTorontoPress.
p.366.ISBN0802079121.
24. Henige,David(1986)."PrimarySourcebyPrimarySource?OntheRoleofEpidemicsinNewWorld
Depopulation".Ethnohistory(Ethnohistory,Vol.33,No.3)33(3):292312,at292.doi:10.2307/481816
(https://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F481816).JSTOR481816(https://www.jstor.org/stable/481816)."[T]heterm
'primary'inevitablycarriesarelativemeaninginsofarasitdefinesthosepiecesofinformationthatstandin
closestrelationshiptoaneventorprocessinthepresentstateofourknowledge.Indeed,inmostinstancesthe
verynatureofaprimarysourcetellsusthatitisactuallyderivative.[H]istorianshavenochoicebuttoregard
certainoftheavailablesourcesas'primary'sincetheyareasneartotrulyoriginalsourcesastheycannow
secure"
25. Henige1986,p.292.
26. Ambraseys,NicholasMelville,CharlesPeterAdams,RobinDartrey(1994).TheSeismicityofEgypt,Arabia,
andtheRedSea(http://books.google.com/?
id=dtVqdSKnBq4C&pg=PA7&dq=historiography+%22primary+source%22+%22secondary+source%22).
CambridgeUniversityPress.p.7.ISBN0521391202."Thesamechroniclecanbeaprimarysourceforthe
periodcontemporarywiththeauthor,asecondarysourceforearliermaterialderivedfrompreviousworks,but
alsoaprimarysourcewhentheseearlierworkshavenotsurvived"
27. EveryonehasRoots:AnIntroductiontoEnglishGenealogybyAnthonyJ.Camp,publishedbyGenealogicalPub.
Co.,1978
28. "IntroductiontorecordclassR4"(http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16525).TheNational
Archives.Retrieved8March2015.
29. Leppard,David(4May2008)."ForgeriesrevealedintheNationalArchivesTimesOnline"
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3867853.ece).TheSundayTimes.Retrieved4July2011.
Benjamin,JulesR(2004).AStudent'sGuidetoHistory.Boston:Bedford/St.Martin's.ISBN0312403569
Craver,KathleenW(1999).UsingInternetPrimarySourcestoTeachCriticalThinkingSkillsinHistory.
Westwood,CT:GreenwoodPress.ISBN0313307490
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WoodGray(1991)[1964].Historian'sHandbook:AKeytotheStudyandWritingofHistory.2nded.Waveland
Press1991.ISBN9780881336269.
Marius,RichardPage,MelvinEugene(2005).Ashortguidetowritingabouthistory.NewYork:Pearson
Longman.ISBN9780321227164.
SebastianOldenJrgensen(2005).Tilkilderne!:introduktiontilhistoriskkildekritik(inDanish).[Tothe
sources:Introductiontohistoricalsourcecriticism].Kbenhavn:GadsForlag.ISBN9788712037781.

Externallinks
Primarysourcesrepositories
PrimarySourcesfromWorldWarOneandTwo:Warletters.com(http://www.warletters.com)Databaseof
mailedletterstoandfromsoldiersduringmajorworldconflictsfromtheNapoleonicWarstoWorldWarTwo.
Fold3.comOver60,000,000PrimarySourceDocuments
(http://www.fold3.com/page/110676809_primary_source_documents/)createdbyAncestry.com
Alistingofover5000websites(http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/specialcollections/other.html)describingholdings
ofmanuscripts,archives,rarebooks,historicalphotographs,andotherprimarysourcesfromtheUniversityof
Idaho.
Findprimarysources(http://www.archivegrid.org)inthecollectionsofmajorresearchlibrariesusing
ArchiveGrid
ShapellManuscriptFoundation(http://www.shapell.org/)DigitalizedPrimarySourcesandHistoricalArtifacts
from1786present
SacredTexts.com(http://www.sacredtexts.com/)AcollectionofreligioustextsandbooksfromtheInternet
SacredTextArchive
Allsourcesrepositories
WikisourceTheFreeLibrarytheWikimediaprojectthatcollects,edits,andcatalogsallsourcetexts
Essaysanddescriptionsofprimary,secondaryandothersources
"ResearchUsingPrimarySources"(http://www.lib.umd.edu/special/research/)fromtheUniversityofMaryland
Libraries(accessed16Jul2013)
"Howtodistinguishbetweenprimaryandsecondarysources"(http://guides.library.ucsc.edu/primarysecondary)
fromtheUniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruzLibrary
JoanofArc:PrimarySourcesSeries(http://primarysourcesseries.joanofarcstudies.org/)Exampleofa
publicationfocusingonprimarysourcedocumentstheHistoricalAssociationofJoanofArcStudies
Findinghistoricalprimarysources(http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/alacarte/subjectguide/163FindingHistorical
PrimarySources)fromtheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeleylibrary
"Primaryversussecondarysources"(http://libguides.bgsu.edu/content.php?pid=20573&sid=145214)fromthe
BowlingGreenStateUniversitylibrary
Findingprimarysourcesinworldhistory(http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/whmfinding.php)fromthe
CenterforHistoryandNewMedia,GeorgeMasonUniversity
GuidetoTerminology(http://archivopedia.com/wiki/index.php?title=Terms)usedwhendescribingarchivaland
otherprimarysourcematerialsonArchivopedia
Thehistorysite.org(http://www.thehistorysite.org)Linkstomanyonlinehistoryarchivalsources.

Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Primary_source&oldid=664859742"
Categories: Primarysources Primaryhistoricalworks Sourcesbytype Historiography
Informationscience Libraryscience
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