Primary Sources Research Guide

• Try an open web search for your topic + a phrase associated with an archival collection, e.g., manuscripts, papers, or "finding aid". 
  • e.g., "Berlin Wall" "digital archive"
• If you know the kind of source you want, try that as a search term.
  • e.g., Attica Prison (riot or rebellion or uprising) interview - more info on how this search is constructed
• Find sources about social identities:
  • Include contemporary and historical names for social identity categories e.g., ("Afro-American" or "African American") scientists sources.
  • Include synonyms for your group - e.g., (women or gender) medieval sources.
  • Consult relevant research guides, which list specific primary source collections.

You can find collections of primary sources in library catalogs, such as Discover or World Cat.

Like every other item in the catalog, these collections are assigned standardized subject headings or subheadings, making them easier to find.

To locate primary sources in a library catalog, it is best to use the "Advanced Search" feature. Enter keywords for your topic in the first search box, and the subject headings for the kind of source you are looking for in the second search box.

Example:

Common subject headings for primary sources include:

• Archival Resources
• Archives
• Correspondence [note: use this if you are looking for letters]
• Diaries
• Interviews
• Notebooks, sketchbooks
• Personal narratives
• Photographs
• Pictorial works
• Sources
• Speeches

For a more extensive list, with examples, see MIT Libraries' page on primary source subject headings.

• Look for research guides for your area of interest:
  • On the History Research Guide, look for guides by region - e.g., History - Asia
  • Search the web for a place + "research guide" - e.g. Cuba "research guide"
• Search for a national library (e.g., Biblioteca Nacional de México) or state library. Keep colonial histories in mind, too (e.g., sources from African countries in Gallica).
• Search the library catalog with the name of a country + history + sources - e.g., "South Africa" history sources.

• Search in collections that are limited to particular kinds of sources (see the boxes on this guide).
• For web searches, include a word or phrase naming the kind of source you want to find. 
  • e.g., "Vietnam veterans" oral histories 
  • e.g., "Chinese immigration" letters
  • Try synonyms as you search. To find letters between abolitionists, you could search:
    • terms that refer to the cause: abolitionist, abolition, antislavery
    • terms that refer to the sources: letters, correspondence