LibGuides: Communication Research Guide: Primary and Secondary Sources

Finding Primary Sources

Use these databases to find primary source material for your research.

Chicago Tribune (Historical, 1849-1993) This link opens in a new window
This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.
Coverage: 1849 - 1993
Early American imprints. Series I, Evans (1639-1800) This link opens in a new window
Full-text collection of books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, government documents and ephemera printed in America from 1639-1800. This collection is based on the bibliography originally compiled and edited by Charles Evans.
Hartford Courant (Historical: 1764-1996) This link opens in a new window
This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.
Coverage: 1764 - 1996
Library of Congress American Memory This link opens in a new window
American Memory is a gateway to the Library of Congress's vast resources of digitized American historical materials. Comprising more than 9 million items that document U.S. history and culture, American Memory is organized into more than 100 thematic collections based on their original format, their subject matter, or who first created, assembled, or donated them to the Library.
The original formats include manuscripts, prints, photographs, posters, maps, sound recordings, motion pictures, books, pamphlets, and sheet music.
New York Times with Index (Historical 1851-2013) This link opens in a new window
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This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time. The Historical New York Times with Index (1851-1993) provides search capability using subject terms and topics for focused and targeted results in combination with searchable full text, full page, and article-level images from the Historical New York Times.
Coverage: 1851 - 2013
Vogue archive This link opens in a new window
The full contents of Vogue magazine (US edition) in full color page image, from the first issue in 1892 to the present, with monthly updates for new issues.
Women's Studies Archive: Women's Issues and Identities This link opens in a new window
Focusing on the 19th and 20th centuries, this archive provides a history of the social, political, and professional aspects of women's lives and offers a look at the roles, experiences, and achievements of women in society. Through a variety of documents such as diaries, letters, photographs, news clippings, organizational records, and journals, it provides a close look at some of the pioneers of women's history, a deep dive into the issues that have affected women, and the many contributions they have made to society. The archive includes records from Planned Parenthood, the Women's Peace Party, the Women's Labor League, and more.
Women and social movements in the United States 1600-2000, Scholar's Edition This link opens in a new window
The Scholar's Edition of Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 includes all content from the "basic" edition along with the addition an important new resource: The Women's Commission Reports collection, an archive of the publications and documents of local, state, and federal Commissions on the Status of Women from 1963 to the present.

Primary Sources

What can I find in the following primary sources?

Diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts and other papers in which individuals describe events in which they were participants or observers.
Memoirs and autobiographies. These are generally less reliable since they are usually written long after events occurred and may be distorted by bias, dimming memory or the revised perspective that may come with hindsight. On the other hand, they are sometimes the only source for certain information.
Records of organizations and agencies of government. The minutes, reports correspondence, etc. of an organization or agency serve as an ongoing record of the activity and thinking of that organization or agency. Many kinds of records (births, deaths, marriages; permits and licenses issued; census data; etc.) document conditions in the society.

Published materials (books, magazine and journal articles, newspaper articles) written at the time about a particular event. While these are sometimes accounts by participants, in most cases they are written by journalists or other observers. The important thing is to distinguish between material written at the time of an event as a kind of report, and material written much later, as historical analysis.

Photographs, audio recordings and moving pictures or video recordings, documenting what happened.

Artifacts of all kinds: physical objects, buildings, furniture, tools, appliances and household items, clothing, toys.

Research reports in the sciences and social sciences. Especially for recent social history, the best evidence of broad developments in society is often in the form of social science surveys or research studies. This research is generally reported in book form, government reports or most commonly in articles published in scholarly journals.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources:

Analyze and interpret primary sources
Are a second-hand account of an historical event
Interpret creative work