Primary sources are the "raw" material of research. They allow one to study evidence firsthand without the interpretations or analyses of others. Examples of primary sources include the following:
To find Primary Sources in the University Library's online catalog, use keywords such as "letters," "diaries," "correspondence," "manuscripts," and "narratives" with your topic to find historical documents or first-person accounts.
Secondary sources are the interpretation of historical events and people that provide the student with the author's analyses and evaluations. Secondary sources allow the student to understand how others have viewed and interpreted the topic or event.
A scholarly or peer-reviewed article is one that is reviewed by a panel of experts in the field. The following are a few characteristics of a scholarly article:
This short video discusses how to distinguish between scholarly and popular journals.
A selected list of primary source databases.
A selected list of secondary source databases.
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