"Primary sources provide firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic or question under investigation." --Yale University

A primary source is typically an original document, recording, or object from the time period being studied. It is the point of view from a person who experienced the event/action or who witnessed it.

Some examples of primary sources include: 

• Government Documents
• Letters
• Diaries and Journals
• Oral Histories
• Photographs
• Films
• Maps
• Newspapers
• Other Historical Records

A good phrase to use when searching the internet is "digital collections" + (your topic)

Archives & other organizations are digitizing more and more primary source materials every day. These are often referred to as "digital collections."

**Make sure you are using reliable/trusted sources.

Using the key words in the table below may be useful when searching the databases for primary sources.

**The the majority of the content in this table was borrowed from the Adelphi University research guide on primary sources.