Research Guides: College Writing Research: Primary Sources &amp; Articles

What is a primary source?

Many students may find useful this definition of primary sources: "Primary sources are those with a direct link, in time and place, to the person, event, situation, or culture under study."

For example, a newspaper article on the outbreak of World War II in 1939 would be a primary source; a newspaper article reflecting on the outbreak of that war in 2014 would be considered a secondary source. A primary source, such Abraham Lincoln's "Emancipation Proclamation," issued January 1, 1863, is a primary source, but it is also a primary source when republished in 1963.

Primary Newspaper Sources

Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
The Historical Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal Newspapers back to around 1850. For the most efficient searching, we recommend selecting "Advanced" for advanced search. Under Search Options, you can narrow the date to either the precise date, a date range, or to before or after a certain date.

Chronicling America
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
The Crisis 1910-2014
The Crisis is the oldest Black-oriented magazine in the world. Focusing on civil rights issues, history, politics and culture, and seeks to challenge its readers about issues that continue to plague African Americans and other communities of color.
Richmond Daily Dispatch, 1860-1865
For history students who are working on the American Civil War, the Richmond Daily Dispatch is highly useful to get the South's perspective on the conflict.

Alternate access links: http://www.virginiachronicle.com/ - AND -
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024738/issues/

Identifying a Primary Research Article

Primary:

Consists of original studies conducted by the authors
Includes: controlled trials, cohort studies, case studies
Includes: methods, results, tables, figures

Secondary:

Consists of assimilated evidence from a number of high quality primary studies
Includes: systematic review, meta-analyses, evidence summaries
May include: methods as a literature review, cited tables and results from other studies

Where should you look for primary research articles?

As you search for research articles, you may want to consider two different approaches. Sometimes, you may already have a subject that you are interested in researching -- in this case it may be easiest to start with a search engine and keywords tied to the subject you want to research. Other times, you may not already have a subject in mind and may be in need of inspiration -- if this is the case, it might be worthwhile to pick a journal or two and start perusing the table of contents. Find something interesting but the article itself doesn't meet the presentation criteria? Look at the keywords associated with the article, and try plugging those into a search engine!