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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.library.unr.edu:80/instruction/help/primary.html","20070209235512","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1171065312"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <title>What is a primary source?</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20070209235512cs_/http://www.library.unr.edu/styles/main.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20070209235512cs_/http://www.library.unr.edu/styles/size.css" type="text/css" media="all"/> </head> <body> <a name="top" id="top"></a> <div id="banner">  <div id="tabs"> <div id="text"><h3 class="tabs"><a class="w" href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/Default.htm">University of Nevada, Reno Libraries</a></h3></div> <div id="tsrch"><a class="w" href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/searches.html">Search</a> | <a class="w" href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/sitemap.html">Site Map</a> | <a class="w" href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/instruction/help/">HELP</a></div> </div> <ul id="toptab"> <li id="cat_tab"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://innopac.library.unr.edu/">Catalog</a></li><li id="subj_tab"><a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/Default.aspx">Subjects</a></li><li id="db_tab"><a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/databases.aspx">Databases</a></li><li id="res_tab"><a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/reserves.html">Reserves</a></li><li id="ej_tab"><a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/ejournals/Default.aspx">Journals</a></li><li id="news_tab"><a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/subject.aspx?p_subj=37">News</a></li><li id="ebook_tab"><a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/ebooks/Default.aspx">eBooks</a></li><li id="ref_tab"><a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/depts/reference/webref/wwwref.html">Reference</a></li></ul> <div class="clear"> </div> </div> <div id="main"> <h1>What is a Primary Source?</h1> <p class="b">There are three types of resources used in research: primary sources, secondary sources, and finding tools.</p> <p><b>I. Primary Sources</b></p> <blockquote> <p>A primary source is a document, speech, or other sort of evidence written, created or otherwise produced during the time under study. Primary sources offer an inside view of a particular event. Examples include:</p> <blockquote> <p><b>Original documents</b>: autobiographies, diaries, e-mail, interviews, letters, minutes, news film footage, official records, photographs, raw research data, speeches</p> <p><b>Creative works</b>: art, drama, films, music, novels, poetry</p> <p><b>Relics or artifacts</b>: buildings, clothing, DNA, furniture, jewelry, pottery</p> <p>Examples of primary sources:</p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>Plato's <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://0-library.nlx.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/display.cfm?&clientID=80723227&depth=2&infobase=pmplato.nfo&softpage=GetClient42&titleCategory=0&view=browse">Republic</a> - women in ancient Greece</li> <li>The <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/">Declaration of Independence</a> - U. S. history</li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://0-collections.chadwyck.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/home/home_aap.jsp?template=basic.htx&content=frameset.htx"> African-American Poetry</a> (1750-1900) – U. S. history & literature</li> <li>Diary of Anne Frank - experiences of Jews in World War II</li> <li>film footage of the assassination of President J. F. Kennedy </li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://nsarchive.chadwyck.com/">National Security Data Archives</a> – U. S. history ~ declassified documents</li> </ul> </blockquote> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p><b>II. Secondary Sources</b></p> <blockquote> <p>Secondary sources provide interpretation and analysis of primary sources.<br/> Secondary sources are one step removed from the original event or "horse's mouth."</p> <p>Examples of secondary sources:</p> <ul> <li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://0-search.eb.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/">Britannica Online</a></i> encyclopedia (online)</li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://0-www.anb.org.innopac.library.unr.edu/articles/home.html"> American National Biography</a> (database)</li> <li>literary criticism analyzing a play, poem, novel, or short story</li> <li>magazine or newspaper articles about events or people</li> <li>political commentary analyzing an election or politician (via Lexis-Nexis database)</li> <li>textbooks</li> </ul> </blockquote> <p><b>III. Finding Sources</b></p> <blockquote> <p>Finding sources are research tools that lead to primary or secondary sources. Developed by subject experts, they provide quality filters unavailable via the Internet's search engines. The <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/">UNR Libraries' web site</a> provides access to a variety of research resources:</p> <p>Examples of finding sources:</p> <ul> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://innopac.library.unr.edu/">Online Library Catalog</a> - to find primary sources <b>by</b> Plato [with the AUTHOR search] <br>or to find secondary sources <b>about</b> Plato [with the KEYWORD or LC SUBJECT search]</li> <li>Specialized Databases: <a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/Default.aspx">Resources by Subject</a></li> </ul> </blockquote> <div id="footer"> <p class="cr">Please direct questions to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/mailto:glass@unr.edu"> Betty Glass</a><br/> Updated 29 September 2005</p>  <div id="footerinc"> <p class="cr"><img border="0" src="/web/20070209235512im_/http://www.library.unr.edu/images/delicious_small.gif" width="10" height="10" alt="del.icio.us logo"/> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://del.icio.us/post" onclick="window.open('https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title), 'delicious','toolbar=no,width=700,height=400'); return false;"> Save this page (del.icio.us)</a> | <a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/instruction/help/">Help</a> | <a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/support.aspx">Technical Support</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://www.it.unr.edu/getstarted/aboutnetid.asp">NetID Support</a><br/> <a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/policy/termsofuse.html">Terms of Use for Licensed Online Resources</a><br/> <br/> <a href="/web/20070209235512/http://www.library.unr.edu/Default.htm"><img src="/web/20070209235512im_/http://www.library.unr.edu/images/homet.gif" style="border: 0 none; vertical-align: middle" width="38" height="40" alt="Home"/>Home</a>   <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512/http://www.unr.edu/"><img src="/web/20070209235512im_/http://www.library.unr.edu/images/n.gif" style="border: 0 none; vertical-align: middle" alt="[UNR Home]" width="50" height="40"/>University of Nevada, Reno</a></p> </div> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20070209235512js_/http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> _uacct = "UA-954760-1"; urchinTracker(); </script> </div> </div> </body> </html>