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Find Sources
Primary sources are are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it.
Types of Primary Sources
- Texts of laws and other original documents.
- Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did.
- Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote.
- Original research.
- Datasets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics.
- Photographs, video, or audio that capture an event.
Find Primary Sources:
- Black Freedom Struggle in the United States This link opens in a new window “Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: Challenges and Triumphs in the Pursuit of Equality”. A free, open resource for students, educators and others who are researching U.S. Black history. The site features over 2,000 curated primary-source documents related to critical people and events in African American history. Featured subjects: Slavery and Abolitionist Movement (1790-1860), Civil War and Reconstruction Era (1861-1877), Jim Crow Era from 1878 to the Great Depression (1878-1932), New Deal and World War II (1933-1945), Civil Rights and Black Power Movements (1946-1975), Contemporary Era (1976-2000s).
- In Context: World History This link opens in a new window A range of topics such as Aztecs, Industrial Revolution, Silk Road, the Buddha, Space Race, and more provide a wide perspective across the globe. Rare primary sources, reliable reference, and multimedia content are aligned to curriculum and put this vast subject into context for students. World History is cross-searchable with Gale In Context: U.S. History for users with access to both resources.
- Ralph J. Bunche Oral Histories Collection on the Civil Rights Movement This link opens in a new window The Ralph J. Bunche Oral History Collection from the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center is a unique resource for the study of the era of the American civil rights movement. Included here are transcriptions of more than 500 interviews with those who made history in the struggles for voting rights, against discrimination in housing, for the desegregation of the schools, to expose racism in hiring, in defiance of police brutality, and to address poverty in the African American communities.
Secondary sources are one step removed from primary sources, though they often quote or otherwise use primary sources. They can cover the same topic, but add a layer of interpretation and analysis.
Types of Secondary Sources:
- Most books about a topic.
- Analysis or interpretation of data.
- Scholarly or other articles about a topic, especially by people not directly involved.
- Documentaries (though they often include photos or video portions that can be considered primary sources).
Find Secondary Sources:
- African-American History This link opens in a new window This resource offers a fresh way to explore the full spectrum of African-American history and culture for the past 500 years. Hundreds of videos, as well as speeches, timelines, biographies, and countless informative articles are contained in this unique database. View the Topic Centers for specific subjects, such as the Underground Railroad, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which include articles, sharable slideshows, videos and primary sources.
- History Reference Center This link opens in a new window Full text for more than 1,990 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books from leading history publishers. Covering both U.S. and world history topics, History Reference Center is a full-text database featuring historical reference books, magazines, journals and thousands of primary source documents.
Tertiary sources are sources that index, abstract, organize or compile other sources. They are used to list, summarize or repackage information. These sources are good for getting brainstorming ideas or to be used as a jumping off point, they are not good for citations in research assignments.
Types of Tertiary Sources:
- Dictionaries/encyclopedias (may be secondary)
- Almanacs
- Fact books
- Wikipedia
- Bibliographies (may be secondary)
- Guidebooks
Find Tertiary Sources:
- History Reference Center This link opens in a new window Full text for more than 1,990 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books from leading history publishers. Covering both U.S. and world history topics, History Reference Center is a full-text database featuring historical reference books, magazines, journals and thousands of primary source documents.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window Credo Reference is a general knowledge database providing articles, images, charts, maps and other materials on thousands of topics. With 750+ searchable, full-text titles, Credo Reference places particular emphasis on subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and reference handbooks. Also included are more than 1,100 short reference videos, more than 475,000 high-resolution art images, photographs, and maps across all subject areas.