Primary sources are produced by participants or direct observers of an issue, event or time period. These sources may be recorded during the event or later on, by a participant reflecting upon the event. In some cases, it will be difficult to obtain the original source, so you may have to rely on copies (photocopies, microfilm, digital copies). Copies or transcriptions of a primary source still count as a primary source.
Some examples of primary sources include:
Scholarly books are long publications of scholarships, often published by university presses. They are released all at once (unlike periodicals like journals and newspapers), though some will be re-published in updated editions.
Some books are anthologies, which are edited collections of essays/chapters that are written by different authors. Scholarly anthologires are often thematic, covering a specific sub-field of a discipline. Below is an example of a citation of an anthology:
Book chapters are sections of a book. In the case of scholarly books, look for chapters in anthologies, which are collections of essays written by different authors. The citations for book chapters in anthologies often look like citations for journal articles.
Journal articles are shorter pieces of scholarship and are published in peer-reviewed journals. Journals are released in regular intervals, such as monthly, quarterly, or annually. Peer review refers to the journals' vetting process. Each article is reviewed by peer-scholars of the author for quality and accuracy.
Book reviews are a type of article that analyzes and critiques a recently published book. Book reviews can be found in peer-reviewed journals, as well as mainstream publications such as newspapers and magazines. See this guide for information on book reviews.
Newspapers and magazines are publications with short articles intended for general/non-scholarly audiences, often written by journalists.
Dissertations and theses are long works of scholarship produced by graduate students, intended as the culmination of their scholarly work in graduate school. Many scholars go on to publish their dissertations as books after graduation.
You may encounter other kinds of sources as you search the library databases. If you have questions about sources, how to use them, and how to cite them, ask a librarian for help!
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