History
Tutorial

Sections

Section 2: Primary Sources

Primary sources are original materials surviving from a particular place and time. Common primary sources include:

  • Letters, diaries, memoirs and speeches written by individuals [example]
  • Official documents created by government organizations [example]
  • Interviews with eyewitnesses to an event or transcripts/recordings of such interviews [example]
  • Newspaper accounts of an event at the time it occurred [example]
  • Physical artifacts remaining from a given place and time, including tools, pottery, coins, art works or photographs [example]

In this section you will learn:

  • The difference between primary and secondary sources in history
  • Ways to identify whether a source is primary or secondary
  • Ways to locate primary sources in the Library and on the Web
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