Tips for Locating Primary Sources
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, look for subject headings that contain terms such as diaries, letters, correspondence, autobiography, interviews, or personal narratives following the main heading.
Course Guide
ZSR Special Collections & Archives
ZSR's Special Collection and Archives may contain useful materials on your topic. There are a variety of ways to search these materials, depending on their format. The SCA website contains more information about hours and research help.
1. Search SCA materials (including books) in the library catalog. These include rare books from Britain and Ireland going back to the 18th century.
Examples:
2. Search SCA finding aids to locate materials in collections that are not digitized. (Visit the Special Collections and Archives room in ZSR 625 for help using finding aids!)
Find Primary Sources
ONLINE PRIMARY SOURCE COLLECTIONS
The resources listed below are just a few of the online primary source resources available through ZSR Library and on the web. If you are unable to find information on your topic, schedule a personal research session with a librarian for more help!
- Research Guide: Primary Sources at ZSRBrowse primary source collections by subject.
- Archives Unbound This link opens in a new windowTopically-focused digital collections of primary, unpublished historical documents drawn from institutional and governmental sources and private collections. Broad topic clusters include: African American studies; American Indian studies; Asian studies; British history; Holocaust studies; LGBT studies; Latin American and Caribbean studies; Middle East studies; political science; religious studies; women's studies; and more.
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new windowFull-text seachable library of high-quality digitized materials such as books, articles, government information, and more from libraries around the world. Includes public domain and in-copyright content. Log in as a WFU user to download PDFs and access additional features. Coverage: Varies
- Vanderbilt Television News Archive This link opens in a new windowContains streaming video of NBC nightly news broadcasts (August 1968 to present) and CNN broadcasts (1995 to present); video requires RealPlayer. Also contains abstracts of evening news broadcasts from ABC, NBC, and CBS from August 1968 to present; daily news programs from CNN (1995 to present), FOX News (2004 to present), and ABC Nightline (12 September 1988 to present); and a selection of special programs, including coverage of political events, events related to September 11, 2001, and more. Content is added approximately 72 hours after it was broadcast. Loan requests accepted for video of broadcasts that are not available online. Coverage: August 1968 to present
- Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600 to 2000 This link opens in a new windowIncludes primary documents, books, images, scholarly essays, book reviews, Web site reviews, and teaching tools, all documenting the multiplicity of women’s activism in public life. Also includes a searchable online edition of the highly respected research tool "Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary" (5 volumes, 1971–2004), fully integrated into the broader Women & Social Movements database.
- Library of Congress Digital CollectionsSearchable database of materials digitized and made publicly available by the Library of Congress. Includes documents, photographs, maps, videos, and more.
ONLINE PERIODICAL SOURCES
To locate a particular newspaper, search for the title in Find a Journal. You will see options for both print and electronic access, if available.
- America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowSearch the full text of historical newspapers. WFU access includes the Early American Newspapers Series 1 (1690-1876), African American Newspapers Series 1 (1827-1998), African American Newspapers Series 2 (1835-1956), and Caribbean Newspapers (1718-1876). Coverage: 1690-1876, 1827-1998
- Ebony Magazine Archive This link opens in a new windowProvides access to the entire Ebony Magazine archive from 1945-2014. Browse issues or search across the entire archive, including images and advertisements. Coverage: 1945-2014
- JET Magazine Archive This link opens in a new windowProvides access to the entire JET Magazine archive from 1951-2014. Browse issues or search across the entire archive, including images and advertisements. Coverage: 1951-2014
- LGBT Magazine Archive This link opens in a new windowProvides access to many of the most influential, longest-running serial publications covering LGBT interests, including The Advocate and Gay Times. Coverage: 1954-2015
- ProQuest Central This link opens in a new windowIndexes and provides full-text access to scholarly journals, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, working papers, and market reports across all major subject areas.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text searchable access to both U.S. and selected international historical newspapers, including: New York Times (1851-three years ago), Chicago Tribune (1849-1998), Wall Street Journal (1889-2011), Christian Science Monitor (1908-2009), Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002), Washington Post (1877-2006), New York Amsterdam News (1922-2010), Times of India (1838-2010), Korea Times (1956-2016), Irish Times and Weekly Irish Times (1859-2021), the Chinese Historical Newspapers Collection (1832-1953), the South China Morning Post (1903-2001), and Leftist Newspapers and Periodicals (1845-2015). More recent issues may be available through other databases. Includes advertisements, illustrations, etc. as they were laid out on the original page. Coverage: Varies by publication.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective (1890-1982) This link opens in a new windowIndexes general interest magazines published between 1890 and 1982. Coverage: 1890-1982
Statistics & Data
- Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new windowContains historical data from American History. Demographics, social characteristics, crime, education, health and more are all cross-searchable. Coverage: Colonial period-present
- Voting and Elections This link opens in a new windowContains in-depth data about U.S. Presidential, Congressional, and Gubernatorial campaigns and elections, historical and modern. Data export tools allow for customized data downloads for statistical analysis. Also includes information about voter demographics and political parties. Coverage: 1789-2012
- Roper Center Public Opinion Archives This link opens in a new windowOne of the world's leading archives of social science data, specializing in data from surveys of public opinion. Covers opinions on social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, and more. Most of the data are from the United States, but over 50 nations are represented. Coverage: 1935-present