Autobiography

Is a textbook a primary source
Primary source definition and examples
Autobiography primary source example

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Primary source

First-hand account of information

For Wikipedia's policy on the use of primary sources, see Wikipedia:No original research § Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.

In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about the topic. Similar definitions can be used in library science and other areas of scholarship, although different fields have somewhat different definitions.

In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document written by such a person.^[1]

Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources, which cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources. Generally, accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight are secondary.^[2] A secondary source may also be a primary source depending on how it is used.^[3&

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This brief guide is designed to help students and researchers find and evaluate primary sources available online. Note: as of 2024, this guide is currently under review and revision.

Keep in mind as you use this website, the Web is always changing and evolving. If you have questions, please consult your instructor or librarian.

Primary sources are the evidence of history, original records or objects created by participants or observers at the time historical events occurred or even well after events, as in memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include but are not limited to: letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, maps, speeches, interviews, documents produced by government agencies, photographs, audio or video recordings, born-digital items (e.g. emails), research data, and objects or artifacts (such as works of art or ancient roads, buildings, tools, and weapons). These sources serve as the raw materials historians use to interpret and analyze the past.

Additional Explanations and Examples of Primary Sources

To see if these books are in a librar

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What Are Primary Sources?

Researching how people lived can give you a deeper understanding of a time period. Where did they live and what kind of clothing did they wear? What foods did they enjoy and what did they do for entertainment? What kind of schools did they attend? How did they earn a living? The answers to these questions will tell us a great deal about a civilization.

1909 photograph of children at work by Lewis Hine, seen on EyeWitnesstoHistory.com

One of the best ways to get to know a historical place and time is by reading accounts written by people who lived during that time. Some examples of primary sources are autobiographies and memoirs, letters and correspondence, original documents such as vital records, photographs and recordings, records of an organization, newspaper or magazine articles, journals and diaries, speeches, and artifacts.

The definition of primary source materials is not always a straightforward one. While some researchers believe when and why the document was created determines its eligibility as a primary source, others hold that how the