PRIMARY RESOURCES - PRIMARY RESOURCES: ASSIGNMENTS - Research Guides at University of Wisconsin-Stout

Definitions

Primary resources consist of original sources of information, created during the time period being studied or at a later date by a participant in the events being studied. They reflect the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer and include:

diaries, journals, witnesses, interviews (first person accounts)
government documents (census info, tax records, raw statistics)
films, poems, novels, short stories (when they are the subject of your essay)
photographs

Secondary resources consist of information produced using primary resources; they interpret or analyze primary resources and include:

history books
encyclopedias
essays and articles written about an event by someone who was not present
biographies
newspapers
films, poems, novels, short stories

Toolbox

Activity and Handouts: ARC Guide for Educators National Archives materials includes
Document Analysis Worksheets

Rubric: Analyzing a Primary Source Cyberbee.com

Rubric: Primary Source Analysis Fayetteville State University

Worksheets: Using Primary Resources WI Historical Society

Assignment: Making History

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Try These First

To locate primary documents related to American history, try these sites first:

AmDocs: Documents for the Study of American History with a Quick Find by date
American Memory From the Library of Congress; Is a gateway to primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States.
Core Documents of U.S. Democracy Basic federal government documents that define American democracy
Archival Research Catalog Search the National Archives.gov for some of the most significant documents on U.S. history
Civil Rights Digital Library Includes unedited news film and television archives.

Primary Document Resources on the Web

Web Sites with Primary Documents (UW-Stout) Includes categories for Native Americans, Asian Americans, etc.
Repositories of Primary Sources 5000+ websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources; divided geographically and alphabetically

Databases at UW-Stout Library

Stout Users Only The University Library subscribes to several databases which include primary resources:

Databases for History (UW-Stout)
Databases A-Z List of ALL UW-Stout Databases

These are specialized databases which include primary resources:

Tips

Allow time! You may need to identify a major resource and sift through a great deal of text to identify useful information.
Be patient and persistent! There may be several steps in your research--identifying an appropriate collection, then using different search methods to view materials, and selecting appropriate content.
Ask questions! Primary documents need to be interpreted. Use How to Read Primary Documents
Cite materials properly! Use the Citing Primary Resources page for examples of citations in MLA and APA formats.