Voices from the Past: Enhancing Your Research with Primary Sources

Voices from the Past: Enhancing Your Research 

with Primary Sources

What is a primary source?• Primary sources are the evidence of

history, original records or objects created by participants or observers at the time historical events occurred or even well after events, as in memoirs and oral histories.

• OR, more simply, a primary source is: – A first-hand account– Direct evidence

Some Examples of Primary Sources

• Letters• Manuscripts• Diaries• Journals• Newspapers• Maps• Speeches• Interviews• Documents produced by government agencies• Photographs• Audio or video recordings• Born-digital items (e.g. emails)• Research data• Objects or artifacts (such as works of art,

buildings, tools, weapons, etc.)

Where to Find Primary Sources:

University Resources• Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections– Contact the curators!

• University Archivist Bill Kimok kimok@ohio.edu

• Manuscripts Curator Doug McCabe mccabe@ohio.edu

• Special Collections Librarian Miriam Intrator intrator@ohio.edu (rare books & documentary photo archive)

• ALICE• Digital Collections• Databases• Your subject liaison librarian!

Where to Find Primary Sources:

External Resources• Digital Public Library of America• Archive Grid• HathiTrust Digital Library• Internet Archive

– Wayback Machine• The Vault on Slate• Wellcome Library

Reflection Points• Let your sources guide your research• What you do not find may be as, or

more important, than what you do find. – Silences and gaps in the historical record

can be very informative and powerful!

• Originals Versus Digitized Versions/Surrogates– Good? Bad? Neutral? Depends?– http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/h/harp/

index.html

Challenges…and Opportunities!

• Deciphering handwriting• Identifying contemporary vocabulary• Being as objective and sensitive to the

time and place as possible– i.e. avoiding bias

• Contextualization• Uncovering the stories of those whose

voices often went unrecorded– Women, minorities, children, those who could

not read or write, societies with oral culture, etc.

Initial Questions1. What is it?2. Who wrote or made it?3. When was it written or made?4. Where was it written or made?5. How was it written or made?6. What evidence does this source

contribute to my research?7. What questions does it raise?

What else do you want to know about the source, its author, its context, etc.?

Getting Started• Start early and plan ahead• Search for materials• Follow the bibliographic trail-which

primary sources do your secondary sources cite?– Never assume any source has already been

depleted. You have a new and fresh perspective!

• Always contact the curator, librarian, or archivist prior to planning your visit!– Verify accessibility, availability, hours,

reproduction and usage policies and prices

More Information• American Library Association • Library of Congress• National Archives• Alden Library • Contact me: Miriam intrator@ohio.edu