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THIST 498 History Capstone: Primary Sources

What is a primary source?

The collection and analysis of primary sources is central to historical research. A primary source can take many forms: letters, memos, newspapers, diaries, film, photographs, speeches, government reports, British parliamentary debates, sermons, magazines, web sites, etc. Often they are created during the time period which is being studied (correspondence, diaries, newspapers, government documents), but they can also be produced later by eyewitnesses or participants (memoirs, oral histories).

You may find primary sources in their original format such as in an archive.  You may also find them as recently published book collections (often called a "documentary history"), microfilm, electronic databases, digitized images, etc.

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Search terms for primary sources

Combine any of the terms below with your topic or concepts when you search UW Libraries Search.  You can also limit your searches by date ranges

  • documents
  • papers
  • records
  • diaries
  • journals
  • letters or correspondence
  • narratives (as in personal narratives)
  • photographs or images
  • advertisements
  • speeches
  • sermons
  • bills
  • laws
  • treaties

Primary Sources: Newspapers

This page includes links to UW restricted digitized historic newspapers and selected freely available digitized newspapers. To find additional freely available digitized historic newspapers see ICON: International Coalition on Newspapers. Additional collections of this type of primary source can be found under the tabs for History by Region and History by Topic.

For contemporary newspaper coverage (roughly since 1990) see the News subject guide.

  • Last Updated: Mar 15, 2024 11:00 AM
  • URL: https://guides.lib.uw.edu/thist498
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