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HIST 299-91: Global Environmental History (Conz): Primary Sources

Fall 2025

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, 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: 

  • Perspectives from organizations will likely be found in either organization- or profession-specific newspapers/bulletins, proceedings of meetings/conferences, or collections of a particular organization's papers;
  • The perspectives of an individual could live in the sources above; in interviews with news media; correspondence; or in a personal memoir, among others. 
  • Politicians' perspectives could show up in places such as public addresses; government and diplomatic documents, or in mainstream newspapers. 
  • Religious perspectives are likely to live either in religious-specific publications, in pamphlets put out by a church or related organizations, or in personal memoirs. 
  • etc. 

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

Where Are They?

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

Most primary source collections are categorized by some combination of...

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

For example, if you are hoping to find news articles pertaining to the First Opium War, not just any database will do! You need a resource that: 

  1. Provides access to newspapers (ideally, a range of large/establishment and more-local publications); 
  2. Includes resources published in geographic proximity (ideally in China, although the UK is also an option);
  3. Covers the 19th century and specifically 1839-1842. 

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! 

Searching

  • 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:

Primary Source Collections

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

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS: 

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 energy will search for references to energy across US government websites. 
  • site:*.org energy will 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 energy 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 energy searching British government sites
  • site:*.gov.zw energy searching Zimbabwean government sites
  • site:*.gov.ls energy searching Lesotho government sites
  • site:*.un.org energy searching the United Nations website
 
You should also pay attention to any collections of primary sources referenced in your secondary sources. 

(HISTORIC) SCIENTIFIC / ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLICATIONS:

DATA: