Primary Source Literacy : Home

Examples of Primary Resources

• Diaries & Journals
• Correspondence
• Newspapers
• Government Documents
• Original Scientific Research Studies
• Immigration Records

• Photographs 
• Scrapbooks
• Artifacts
• Works of Art
• Ephemera (posters, advertisments, flyers, etc.)

• Speeches
• News reels
• Films
• Oral Histories

"Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience." 

- From The Library of Congress 

Whatever resource you encounter, whether Primary or Secondary, it is important to evaluate. Answer these questions each and every time:

EXTERNAL EVALUATION - Provenance of the resource itself: 

• Who created the resource? What is their relationship to the event/ era?

• Who is the intended audience for the resource?

• When and where was the resource created?

• Why was it created?

INTERNAL EVALUTION - The information within the resource

• What facts did you learn from this resource?

• Can you detect any bias? Is there any reason to doubt the source or the creator?

• Is there anything the author left unclear? What would you like to know more about?