A primary source is a document or piece of evidence written or created during the time period you are studying. A primary source allows you to examine evidence firsthand without being affected by other opinions.
Books are great places to look for primary sources! Historians may have already put together collections of primary sources in a book for you. You might try looking for books containing sermons, military histories, government publications, etc. You may even come across a book written by someone from the time period you are studying.
The Times (London, England) Digital Archive is an online, full-text facsimile of more than 200 years of The Times, one of the most highly regarded resources for the 19th – 20th Century history detailing every complete page of every issue from 1785-2009.
Subjects covered include news and current events. Find current and archival to 1980 U.S. news.
Includes The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Newsday, and Chicago Tribune as well as over 80 Gannett titles.
Subjects covered include law, government, and reference information. Find a wide range of legal materials including legislative histories, codes and regulations, and Federal and State case law.
These types of databases are not ideal or really meant for browsing. It works best if you have a certain publication you have in mind and are looking for. This could be a court case, amendment , congressional bill, etc. We recommend you identify the name of what you are looking for first (Google, Wikipedia, etc.) and then try looking up the primary source in these resources. This can be challenging so please refer to our guides listed below. If you are still have trouble, navigate to the research help page of this guide to connect with a librarian for assistance.
Subjects covered include art, design, architecture, fashion, maps, photography, and more. Find images from museums, archives, and other institutions.
Description: The Artstor Digital Library is a database of 2 million images for use in the humanities. Comprised of nearly 300 collections from museums, archives, scholars, and artists, the Artstor Digital Library makes available high-qualities images for download, along with tools for exporting images into PowerPoint and creating citations.
If you still can't find what you are looking for, click on the research help page of this guide to connect with a librarian!
Otherwise, consider setting up a research appointment with Sarah, your course librarian. Send her an email at bakkens@uwgb.edu with dates and times to set up an appointment.