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History & Political Science

A guide for finding political science and historical resources and information

Historical Evidence: Primary Sources

Primary Sources & Types

Primary sources are those which recorded an event as it occurred or very soon after. Some examples are listed below and in the tabs at the top of this box:

  • Autobiographies
  • Correspondence (letters, e-mail, etc.)
  • Diaries/Journals
  • Presidential Papers
  • Government Documents
  • Original documents (birth certificate, marriage license, trial transcript)
  • Speeches
  • Interviews (face-to-face, recorded)
  • Proceedings of conferences, symposia
  • Minutes of meetings
  • College catalogs
  • Records of organizations
  • Patents
  • Survey research (market surveys, public opinion polls)
  • Music composition/scores
  • Newspaper articles written at the time (i.e., a New York Times article on the Battle of Bull Run)
  • Works of literature (i.e., The Lord of the Rings, Moby Dick, Good Earth)

Additional Resources:

How to Read a Primary Source

Using Primary Sources

Why Use Primary Sources

Secondary Sources 

Secondary sources provide context and meaning, through analysis, commentary and interpretation of persons and events as recording primary texts. Both primary and secondary sources are needed in historical research.

Whereas an autobiography is a primary source, a biography is a secondary source. A government report may be a primary source; a newspaper article may be a secondary source. See the chart below for more examples.

Photographs

Maps

Video

Works of art and architecture

Audio recordings (i.e., radio programs)

Cookery (dishes, utensils, etc.)

Farming/Construction tools

Clothing

Coins/Currency

Medical/Scientific instruments

Primary & Secondary Sources by Discipline

The chart below was created by the Libraries at Indiana University Bloomington on its guide for  Identifying Primary & Secondary Sources. The chart illustrates possible uses of primary and secondary sources by discipline:

Chart of Discipline-related Primary & Secondary Sources
Discipline Primary Source Secondary Source
Archaeology Farming tools Treatise on Innovative Analysis of Neolithic Artifacts
Art Sketch book Conference Proceedings on French Impressionist
Education Test scores Biography of John Dewey
History Emancipation Proclamation (1863) Non-fiction Book on the Underground Railroad
Journalism Interview Biography of Publisher Katherine Meyer Graham
Law Legislative hearing Law Review Article on Anti-Terrorism Legislation
Literature Novel Critical Commentary Article on "The Name of the Rose"
Music Opera score Biography of Composer Ludwig van Beethoven
Political Science Public opinion poll Newspaper Article on Campaign Finance Reform
Psychology Research article on the affect of emotions on brain development Biography of Carl Jung
Religion Sacred texts (Bible, Torah, Qu'ran, etc.) Commentary on the Sacred Texts
Rhetoric/Communication Gettysburg Address Commentary on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech"
Sociology Voter registry Ph.D. Dissertation on Hispanic Voting Patterns