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Research Guides

Images as Primary Sources

Open Door Clinic employees working, 1978

Photographs, drawings and other images provide information you can't always get from a text source. Images can provide details of everyday life such as clothing or material culture. It is important to keep in mind that photographs are not an unbiased reflection of reality -- the photographer chooses what and how to depict a certain scene.

Help: Making Sense of Documentary Photographs, Analyzing Photographs, Analyzing Material Culture

Image: Open Door Clinic employees working in office, Seattle, June 28, 1978

Digitized Collections of Images

For more information on images see Finding and Using Digital Images.