"Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, interviews, memoirs... photographs, recordings, research data, and objects or artifacts. These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past." From the American Library Association’s Reference and User Services Division.
The Web has revolutionized research in primary sources, of course. Digital collections are readily available and relatively easy to find.
Strategy: 1
Explore a well known, usually large, collection offered in guides. Most are searchable.
See box to the right
Strategy 2
Use Google and Google Scholar to search by topic
Add to search term(s): primary sources, sources, documents
Stratefy 3
Use secondary sources to find primary
Ebooks by topic with the word 'sources'
Strategy 4
Send Jan Malcheski jamalche@utica.edu a message with your exact topic requesting help and indicating where you have looked
Most of these links will take you to online collections with some digital full text. However, for some searches, you will only retrieve information about physical collections located in libraries and other institutions.