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HIST 297: Histories of Disease & Healing (Conz): Primary Sources

Fall 2023

Working with Primary Sources

Whose Voices?

Similarly to academic articles, there are some very general tools that you can use to search primary sources broadly. However, it is usually more productive to work out in advance....

Who do you want to hear from...

This could be a perspective, a category of people, a specific group/organization, a geographic area or country, etc.

...And where are they? 

Next, figure out where your voices "live" in the historical record. For example: 

  • Medical perspectives will likely be found in either medical-specific journals/bulletins, proceedings of meetings/conferences, or reports from governmental and/or other health organizations. 
  • The perspectives of an individual doctor or patient could live in the sources above; in newspaper articles; or in a personal memoir, among others. 
  • Politicians' perspectives could show up in places such as public addresses; government documents (like the Congressional Record, on the national level), or in mainstream newspapers. 
  • etc. 

This page of the guide is designed to give you some starting points -- but you can also ask Jennifer or Prof. Conz for a recommendation! 

Search

  • Keep your searches simple, and be creative with your search terms. How did people in the period you are researching speak and write?  What words would they have used to describe events or ideas? Diseases and medical terms?
     
  • Work with, not against, your search tools. Databases designed for primary sources often will let you narrow your search by features like publication date, geographic location, or type of source. 
     
  • Pay attention to the order of search results.  If your search is very broad or you get a lot of results, sorting by relevance can help you find starting places. But when looking at newspapers or other sources that might build on each other and create a story over time, you may want to sort Oldest to Newest instead! 
     
  • Don't just search -- browse! Keyword searching for primary sources can be imprecise, especially if you don't know exactly what you're looking for. Give yourself time to click in and out of sources you're unsure of, browse through the pages, and look at the context of sources like newspaper articles (what other stories appeared on the same day? what advertisements?) for maximum information. 
     
  • Pace yourself. Primary sources can take longer to find than academic articles. You may also need more time to decipher, digest, and interpret the content of your primary sources. Leave yourself plenty of time to do this work, and ask questions or for assistance earlier rather than later! 

Analyze

Suggested Resources

(HISTORIC) SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS:

NEWSPAPERS & PERIODICALS: 

For even more options, visit: https://libguides.holycross.edu/newspapers

Global Papers

U.S. Papers & Periodicals

Latin American Papers & Periodicals

Asian Papers & Periodicals:

African Papers & Periodicals

European Papers & Periodicals

MEDICAL COLLECTIONS:

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS: 

DATA: 

IMAGES & MULTIMEDIA:

MISC. WEB SOURCES:

 

WEB SEARCH STRATEGIES: 

Google Site Search is an invaluable tool for locating sources on the web which may be scattered across disparate websites. 
 
  • site:*.gov influenza will search for references to influenza across US government websites. 
  • site:*.org influenzawill search the same on .org (non-profit) websites, which will hit many libraries, museums and other cultural heritage institutions (as well as some advocacy organizations, so read critically for bias);
  • site:*.edu influenza will conduct the search across educational websites. 
Government websites offer a wealth of sources and information, but can be very unwieldy to navigate. Google Site Search can allow you to search a site more efficiently.
 
You can also use this technique to search specific websites, or web domains belonging to a specific country. Here are some examples: 
 
  • site:*.gov.uk influenza searching British government sites
  • site:*.gov.zw influenza searching Zimbabwean government sites
  • site:*.un.org influenza searching the United Nations website
You should also pay attention to any collections of primary sources referenced in your secondary sources.