Primary Sources

Primary Sources are defined differently between scientific fields and the humanities and social sciences. Learn how to distinguish between them and apply these sources to your scholarship.

Humanities & Social Sciences

Primary sources in the humanities and social sciences are original documents created during or shortly after the events they discuss. They document individual experiences, opinions, and observations of events, and allow researchers to understand more about what it was like to live through an event or historical period.

Primary sources can be current or historical; most materials held in the our archives and special collections are primary sources. Learn more about using archives in your research.

Examples of primary sources in the humanities and social sciences include:

• Letters or email
• Diaries, blogs, memoirs, or autobiographies
• Interviews or oral histories
• Photographs, video, or film
• Works of art
• Government documents
• Personal papers
• Newspapers

Finding Primary Sources

Primary sources can be found in the archives, research databases, and online if evaluated carefully.  Find research databases and other recommended sources in research by subject or choose one of the following:

Sciences

Primary sources in the sciences are reports in which the authors describe their own experiment, methodology, and results. These sources are published in scholarly journals and help researchers build from each other’s work. Learn more about the levels of evidence in scientific research.

Examples of primary sources in the sciences include:

• Research Article
• Data set or laboratory notebook
• Case Report

  A detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient that usually describes an unusual or novel occurrence.
• Clinical Trial

  Researchers test a potential drug, medical device, activity, or procedure to find out if it is safe and effective.
• Cohort Studies

  Researchers observe a group who share a common characteristic over a period of time to see how outcomes develop.
• Prospective Study

  Participants at risk for developing a condition are observed over time in order to isolate factors that influence the development of disease.
• Randomized Controlled Trial

  Participants are randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group. The test-treatment group receive the treatment being studied, while the control group receives either an alternative treatment, no treatment, or a placebo. Effects of the treatments are monitored to determine the efficacy of the treatment while reducing bias in both researchers and participants.

Finding Primary Sources

Find primary resources in a research database – see research by subject for the best starting place for your topic.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources in all fields synthesize, analyze or summarize the results of prior research. Examples include:

• Literature reviews
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
• Documentaries
• Textbooks
• Reference sources like an encyclopedia
• Book reviews and literary criticism

Questions & Help

If you have questions on this, or another topic, contact a librarian for help!