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HIST 101: Themes - China & America (Ren): Primary (Historical) Sources

Fall 2024

Primary sources are first-hand witnesses to a historical event or period, created at that point in history. They offer a perspective untouched by hindsight, which can help us identify the actions, motivations and emotions involved in a historical event -- to understand history as it was experienced at the time rather than as we analyze it today. 

With that said, remember that history is a relative term, and primary sources need not be "old" depending on the topic/perspective you are trying to understand! If you were doing a project on the 2024 elections, newspaper articles published this morning could be a primary source. It's all about how you read the source.

Successful Searching

Who(se 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 (ex - women, or women of color, or athletes of color) 
  • a specific group (ex, an organization)
  • a geographic area 

or some combination of the above! 

Where are They?

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

  • 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. 
  • Perspectives of athletes are likely to live in publications dedicated to sports, in newspaper and other media interviews, or in personal memoirs. 
  • etc. 

Remember: not all perspectives are represented equally in the historical record! 

Choose Your Tools! 

Now, you need to determine where we have access to that part of the historical record. 

Most primary source collections are categorized by...

  • Date
  • Geography
  • Genre, and/or
  • Topic

For example, if you are hoping to find news reports on the March on Washington, not just any database will do! You need a resource that: 

  1. Provides access to newspapers (even better, access to African-American newspapers)
  2. Includes resources published in the US (even better, resources local to Washington DC); 
  3. Covers the 1960s and 1963 specifically. 

This page of the guide is designed to give you some starting points -- but you can also ask Jennifer or Prof. Ren 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? Are there specific names or organizations that you can focus in on? 
     
  • 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:

Collections of Primary Sources

Newspapers & Magazines:

Pop Culture Magazines:

Asian-American Periodicals