Primary Sources

Searching for primary sources requires a different approach than typical information searches.

1. Begin with some background reading or 'pre-research': The more familiar you are with key events, figures, laws, and especially the terminology of the time period you're studying, the more effective your research will be. You can start by using Wikipedia or the libraries' reference databases to begin. 
2. When searching for primary sources online, be sure to use date ranges (usually found on the advanced search page) to narrow your search to specific time periods.
   1. Keep in mind that news traveled slowly in the past, so you may need to account for this when researching time periods where information took longer to get reported. You might need to adjust the time period to ensure you get results.
   2. Start with broader search terms but limit to a narrower time period. For example: if searching for information on World War I search for: "great war" and limit to the date range of 06/28/1914-09/01/1939 because World War I was not known by this term until the beginning of World War II.

Using primary source terms to find primary sources: It is recommended that you use search terms that replicate the types of primary sources you are searching for. Some examples: diaries, speeches, pamphlets, correspondence, interviews, eyewitness etc.