Image courtesy Cardinal Stritch University Library
Primary sources are contemporary, first-hand, (un)published accounts of an event. Published = printed, filmed, uploaded, or digitized (non-archival) materials. How to Read a Primary Source (Bowdoin College) includes a helpful section with questions to ask when evaluating a primary source.
Archival Collections
Newspapers
Primary Source Publications
Publications of original documents, often with retrospective scholarly analysis and bibliographies.
Audiovisual Materials
Numerical & Geospatial Data
Primary Source Databases
Image courtesy Cardinal Stritch University Library
Secondary Sources are retrospective analyses based on the author's own reading of existing primary sources. Scholarly work uses recent, peer-reviewed academic sources, such as journal (not magazine) articles, books, and book chapters. What is a scholarly or peer reviewed article? View NCSU Library's 5-minute tutorial: Peer Review in Five Minutes
Books
Articles
Dissertations & theses
Book Reviews