Undergraduate Research GuidesFind Sources
How Do I…?
Find Primary Sources
What is a Primary Source?
This guide will help you:
 Understand what a primary
source is
 Distinguish primary from
secondary sources
 Locate primary sources in a
variety of places and
formats
 Find more help if you
need it
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Primary sources are original artifacts or documents. They offer
contemporary accounts from participants or people directly
involved in an event. Examples include:
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Diaries and literary memoirs
Letters/Correspondence
Artistic works (musical and
visual arts)
News segments/transcripts
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Speeches
Interviews
Editorials
Legal documents and
statistics
What is a Secondary Source?
Scholarly articles, textbooks, and encyclopedias are examples of secondary
sources. A secondary source draws on primary sources, often interpreting and
analyzing the material to create a unified work.
Why Use Primary Sources?
Secondary sources are further removed from the events and often reflect the
author’s biases. Using primary sources enables you to work with the raw material
and draw your own conclusions.
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How can you tell if something is a Primary Source?
217-686-4361
Ask yourself the following questions to help determine if a source is primary:
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Authors
 How does the author know what he/she knows?
 Does the his/her knowledge stem from personal experience or having
witnessed an event?
 Does the author cite several other (published) reports?
Content
 Why is the information being provided or the article written?
 Are there references to other writings on this topic?
Currency/Timeliness
 Is the date of publication evident?
 Is the date of publication close to the event described?
How Do I…?
Where Can I Find Primary Sources?
You can find primary sources at the library and local archives. You can also access primary sources using the
library’s online resources. The following list includes some good starting points to find specific types of primary
sources or to search in general primary source resources.
Finding Specific Types of Primary Sources in the Online Catalog
You can use the Advanced Search in the Online Catalog to look for different types of primary sources. The catalog can be accessed at: http://vufind.carli.illinois.edu/vf-uiu/Search/Advanced
1. Enter the type of primary source you’re looking for in the first search box
(examples include: narratives, correspondence, music scores, etc.)
2. Change the drop-down menu next to the search box from “Keyword” to “Subject”
3. In the second search box, type a related keyword
(examples include: author, person of interest, event, geographical location, etc.
For example, you might type “narratives” in the first box and “Anne Frank” in the second box to look for Anne’s
diary and relations primary sources.
Speeches & Interviews
These can be located in
Academic Search Premier
1. On the search page, scroll down to the
“Limit Your Results” section
2. From the “Document Type” box on the
right, select “Speech” or “Interview”
(To search both simultaneously, hold
down “Control” when clicking
News Transcripts
These are available in Lexis-Nexis Academic
1. Enter search terms
2. In the “Search within” category, select
“TV and Radio Broadcast Transcripts”
3. Specify Date
Check out our guides on Finding Images,
4. Click Search
Editorials, Statistics and Films for more
information on searching for specific types of
primary sources.
http://http://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/
howdoi/how.html
General Primary Source Resources
Article & Newspaper Databases
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Newspaper Source (EBSCO)
Identifies articles in regional, U.S.,
and international newspapers,
newswires and newspaper
columns, as well as TV and radio
transcripts
Historical Newspapers
(Through the History, Philosophy
and Newspaper Library)
Look here for early American
newspapers and more
Early American Imprints
1639-1800 & 1801-1819
Includes several types of primary
source documents; you can
browse by subject
Page 2
Local Archive Sources
 University Archives
Includes office records,
publications, and personal papers
from UIUC
 Student Life & Culture Archives
Collections relating to student life
on the nation level and at UIUC
 IDEALS
Provides access to research and
scholarship of faculty, staff &
students at UIUC
 Illinois History & Lincoln Collection
Materials on Illinois & local history
 Digital History Collection
Listing of public digital history
collections; great for finding
primary sources such as letters
and diaries
Public Web Sources
 American Memory Project
Diverse collection in a variety of
formats
 National Archives
A huge collection of photographs,
documents, reports and more
 Thomas
Comprehensive guide to legislative
information from the Library of
Congress
 New York Public Library Digital
Gallery
Free access to over 685,000
digitized images
 Primary Source Village
Provides a more detailed tutorial
on understanding and using
primary sources