What are Primary Sources?
Primary sources are first-hand accounts of an event. They were created by those who have directly witnessed or experienced what they are describing. Some examples of primary sources include diaries, journals, memoirs, speeches, interviews, manuscripts, letters, or official records.
Primary sources can also include original creative works, such as novels, plays, paintings, sculptures, or photographs. In the natural and social sciences, types of primary sources might include statistical data, results from a research study, and scientific articles that present these results and data. These examples represent the original work or first-hand observations of the researchers who collected the data, so they would be considered primary sources as well.
For more information about primary sources, check out the Primary vs Secondary Sources infographic.
How do I locate primary sources?
There are several ways to access Primary Source materials in the UAGC Library.
To locate Databases with Primary Source Materials
1. Click on Find Articles & More.
2. Select on Databases by Type.
3. Once on this page, you'll see a primary sources link that will take you to databases with these sources.
Primary Source in History Research Guide
If you are looking for primary sources for history research we also have a Primary Source research guide that contains a collection of websites that can help!
Click here to access the Primary Source Research Guide >>
Primary Sources in Health, Science, Education, Natural and Social Sciences, and other fields
If you are looking for primary sources in natural and social sciences, the Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods: Searching for Articles page on the Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods guide, also referred to as Research Methods, may help.
If you still have questions you can chat in real-time with a librarian here.