ASLC/HIST-477: The History and Memory of the Asia-Pacific War

Here are the prompts for the primary source analysis activity (with your small group).

As a group, spend some time examining your source and making sure you have a shared understanding of what it is you’re looking at. Then use the following prompts to analyze your source. Plan on sharing your thoughts and questions with the class.

Initial analysis:

• What feelings did looking at this source evoke? Curiosity? Boredom? Confusion? Fascination? Something else entirely?
• Who (likely) produced this item, and for what purpose? How would it have likely been used at the time of its production?
• When was the item created?
• What information could be drawn from the source? 
• Does the source show us someone’s perspective? Can you identify any ideologies, agendas, or assumptions that the source supports or challenges?

1. Do a search in Google (or the search engine of your choice)

2. Combine keywords that describe your topic with keywords to retrieve primary sources or digital collections from archives and museums

For example

• "Vietnam veterans" oral histories  
• "African American" women nurses "digital collection"
• 17th century recipes archives
• "Chinese immigration" letters

Common primary source keywords include:

• "primary sources"
• sources
• documents
• texts
• manuscripts
• "digital collections"

You can also try keywords for kinds of primary sources:

• "oral histories"
• "personal narratives"
• letters
• correspondence
• interviews
• diaries

Remember to evaluate the sites you find -- even a quick check to see if a site is produced by an archives, museum, governmental agency, or educational institution can help you determine whether this is a legitimate, trustworthy source for information. The best sites for primary sources will provide you with the information you need to cite your sources. 

Other research guides

To see if a librarian has already identified digital primary sources related to your topic, do an Internet search for a term or phrase related to your research plus the phrase "research guide" or LibGuide.

• For example: Search for history of medicine "research guide".