Research for History Papers
Using Primary
and Secondary Sources
to Study World War I
Nancy McEnery, Librarian
Primary Sources
• Documents that give
a rich sense of life in
the time period, as
told by it’s participants
• Diaries
• Letters
• Photographs
• First-hand accounts
• Sound recordings
Primary Sources: Photos
Primary sources: Photos
Primary Sources: Diaries
The Personal Diary of
Bill Schira
March 4, 1918 to July
6, 1919
Primary Sources: Letters
“A Poet of the Air”
Letters of
Jack Morris Wright
First Lieutenant of
American Aviation in
France
April, 1917 to
January, 1918.
Primary Sources: Maps
cavorite-lis
n
-fGET
tg/stores/d
communit
rate-item
cust-rec
just-say-no
true
m/justsay
Bibliographic or Secondary
Sources
• What other’s have
written about a topic
• books
• articles from
magazines &
scholarly journals.
More Secondary Sources
How do historians research?
• They read books.
• They get direction
from citations in their
reading.
• They use primary
sources and back
them up with
secondary sources.
Consider as you do research
• Use both primary and
secondary sources to
research a topic in
history.
How do Scientists Research?
• Scientists are
concerned with the
results of other’s
research.
• They go to peerreviewed journals like
Nature to read
original research
results.
•
**But not every article in Nature or Science
Journal will be original research!
Primary
Source
A Word of Caution:
• Not every article in the journals will be research
articles. Some will include book reviews and
other materials that are more obviously
secondary sources.
•
(remember, a secondary source is something written about a primary source. secondary sources
include comments on, interpretations of, or discussions about
the original material).
More difficult to differentiate from original articles
are review articles. They are not primary
sources because they “review” previously
published materials.
In the Sciences,
• primary literature refers to the first place a
scientist publishes the results of scientific
investigations.
The surface of the sun
shows rapidly changing
patterns due to
convection
How can you tell if it’s original
research (or a primary source?)
•
Primary research articles use a common format:
• Look for a methods section (sometimes called
materials & methods).
• Look for results (usually followed with charts &
statistical tables).
• Look for a discussion section.
• Look for language like “we tested”, “in our study”
or “we measured” tell you that the article is
reporting original research.
Where the Confusion Begins…
• The distinction between types of sources can get tricky,
because a secondary source may also be a primary
source.
Primary or Secondary?
• Gary Wills’ book about Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, for example,
can be looked at as both a secondary and a primary source. The
distinction may depend on how you are using the source and the
nature of your research.
• If you are researching about Abraham Lincoln, the book would be a
secondary source because Wills is offering his opinions about
Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address.
• If your assignment is to write a book review of Lincoln at Gettysburg,
the book becomes a primary source, because you are commenting,
evaluating, and discussing Gary Wills’ ideas.