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How to Identify and Locate Primary Sources

College and graduate level research often requires the use of primary sources.  Primary, or original, sources are information sources that have not been mediated by third persons.  They may be first hand accounts, works of art, or documents which record an event or are created at the same time as an event, without any interpretation.  

Secondary sources are those that include analysis, interpretation, or explanation of the event described or recorded.  

The Colgate Libraries offer researchers a wealth of information resources of all types.  This guide will assist you in identifying primary sources relevant to your research and locating them at Colgate or other libraries.

Distinguishing Primary from Secondary Sources

A primary source is:
 

 A secondary source is:
 
  • a first-hand account by a participant or observer close to the time of the event, as reported in an article, diary, journal, speech, interview, letter, e-mail, memorandum, or autobiography
  • an analytical article or book about an event, including textbooks and encyclopedias
  • an editorial
  • a biography
  • visual and audio recordings
  • a documentary or reenactment
  • an original work of art or literature
  • reviews or literary criticism
  • original research or raw data, including public opinion polls
  • an article that describes or analyzes a third parties' research results
  • a government document that is produced in the normal course of governing (a law, congressional hearing, treaty, regulation or court decision) and those that:
    • record an event (birth certificate)
    • report data collected by the government (the census)
    • confer a right (a permit, license or patent)
  • a government report that analyzes events after-the-fact, relying on evidence collected or documents generated at the time of the event
    • United States.  National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Policy and Plans.  Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident.  June 6, 1986.  24 April 2001 <http://history.nasa.gov/rogersrep/51lcover.htm>.
  • a law review article or treatise on the law
  • an interest group report criticizing the government's statistical analysis of census data
  • records produced by organizations in the normal course of doing business
  • a report examining the commercial viability of a particular enterprise by a consultant
  • a laboratory report or field observation, including an ethnography
  • an article describing and analyzing the results of a third parties' work
  • artifacts of any kind
  

Identifying Primary Sources Using Colgate Library Resources

See Also Finding Primary Resources for British History and Primary Resources and Manuscript Collections in General

Searching Colgate's Library Catalog (Mondo) for Primary Sources

First try general keyword searches in Mondo using various combinations of key words about your topic.  When you are looking at a record that is relevant, you may be able to assess whether or not it is a primary source by looking at the subject headings (these are listed under the table, the word sources appears on the left).

The following words often appear in the subject headings for primary sources.  Since keyword searches search the subject heading field, in addition to the title and author fields, you may want to include these terms in your searches:

  • sources

  • correspondence

  • description and travel

  • diaries

  • journals

  • interviews

  • notebooks

  • personal narratives

Once you have identified a relevant subject heading, click on it to retrieve other records that have been assigned the same heading.  For example, clicking on the subject heading Great Britain Colonies History Sources will lead you to 5 additional items that are also assigned that heading.

Searching for Articles

Periodical and newspaper articles contemporary with the event you are researching may provide primary documentation.  Online and print indexes are available for a variety of historical publications.  

To search for relevant newspaper articles, use the indexes listed on the library's Periodical Indexes and Abstracts: Newspapers & Media page.  Some of these go back in time to the mid-1700s.

To search for articles from magazines and journals, use the indexes found on the Multidisciplinary Indexes - General page, paying close attention to the date coverage for each index.  For more subject-specific indexes, see the categories listed on the Periodical Indexes and Abstracts page.

Searching for Government Documents

Many recent government documents in Case are individually cataloged in Mondo and can be searched by keyword.  Those published prior to 1976 are cataloged in a variety of indexes; please ask for assistance at the reference desk with finding older government documents.

Many government documents are part of large collections that have their own finding tools.  Locating a U.S. Supreme Court decision, for example, requires the use of a specialized digest or online resource.  

Please ask for assistance at the Case or Cooley reference desk or use our Ask a Librarian service if you need assistance.

Locating Sources at the Colgate University Libraries and Interlibrary Loan

Colgate's Library Catalog (Mondo) records supply a call number for material located in Case and Cooley libraries.  To pinpoint call number locations, please refer to the Case and Cooley maps.

Colgate University's film and video collection is located in Case Library.  For Video, DVD and film searching, see our help page.

Articles identified through indexes may be in our print or microform collections, or may need to be requested by interlibrary loan.  Please search Mondo in Journal (Serial) Title mode to discover whether the source (i.e. the journal, magazine or newspaper) of your article is held at Colgate, and whether we have the needed issue.

Sources not held by the Colgate libraries or the university video, DVD and film collection may be available through interlibrary loan.  Search for the material in the following catalogs, in this order:

More Help

Two additional Research Guides you may want to consult are:

 

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Everett Needham Case Library & George R. Cooley Science Library
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Page Created & Maintained by Rebecca Hewitt
Last Updated 08/17/2007