SFCE 572

Primary sources are materials that were created at the time period you are studying. In the case of memoirs, they are the materials recorded later by a participant or witness of an event.

Examples of primary sources are:

As you do background research on your topic, consider what primary sources might exist. Bibliographies you find in books and articles often mention their primary source material.

Where you look for primary sources will vary greatly depending on your topic!

What type of primary source makes the most sense for your topic? If your topic relates to education policies, you may want to find government documents or laws. If your topic relates to a specific individual or institution, you may want to explore specific archival collections (including digitized collections). If you are interested in adding personal perspectives, you might look for relevant diaries, memoirs, or letters--and these are sometimes published as books (see Finding books for tips).

Since finding primary materials can be challenging, you may want to make an appointment with a librarian for help. Kate, the Education Librarian, can help you get started looking for any type of material (and she has some specific expertise in finding government documents and laws). Some EMU librarians have graduate degrees in History and are especially skilled at finding primary sources--Kate may be able to refer you to the librarian with the best expertise for your topic. The EMU Library also has a archivist, Alexis Braun Marks, who is especially skilled at finding archival records at EMU and other materials in archives.

The boxes below provide:

• Additional Library guides related to using archives and legal materials
• Tips on finding published primary source material
• ​Digital collections of primary sources that may be especially helpful

Published collections of primary sources often contain materials such as diary entries, letters, government documents, newspaper articles, speeches, and photographs.

Follow these steps to find collections of published primary sources on a topic using the EMU Library’s Esearch system:

1. Go to the  "Advanced" search screen in Esearch.

2. In the first search box, type one or more words or phrases that describe your topic.

3. In another search row, change the drop-down menu from Any Field to Subject.

4. In the Subject search box, enter one of the following terms::

5. (Optional) To limit results to books only, use the Material Type drop-down menu and select Books.

6. Click the Search button.