Choose historically appropriate keywords. For example, use "Great War" instead of "World War I" to locate documents discussing the war during and just after it occurred. You may also consider different terms that might have been used to describe the same event from opposing sides or perspectives. Searching for the names of particular people or places may also be effective.
Think about what types of primary sources might have been produced that would be relevant to your topic; think also about which persons or organizations might have produced materials. Some possible types of sources:
| Books | Photographs and images |
| Magazine and newspaper articles | Cartoons and advertisements |
| Diaries and journals | Movies, videos, and DVDs |
| Memoirs and autobiographies | Audio recordings |
| Interviews | Public opinion polls |
| Letters | Fiction |
| Speeches | Research data and statistics |
| Documents produced by organizations | Documents produced by government agencies, including congressional hearings and census records |
To locate potential primary sources in the library's online catalog, Primo, look for subject headings that contain terms such as diaries, letters, correspondence, autobiography, interviews, or personal narratives following the main heading.
These are just a few of the primary sources that may be relevant to your research topic. You may find additional primary sources in the library catalog, openly available on the web, or through other databases. Need help? Ask a librarian!
OPENLY AVAILABLE COLLECTIONS