Sometimes it is important to differentiate between Primary and Secondary Sources; since the the difference is often contextual, it can be hard to tell. Check the link below from the Bowling Green State University Libraries below for some clarification and examples.
"Students and researchers now have greater access to primary source materials for historical research than ever before. The traditional use of sources available in print and microfilm continues to be the foundation for research, but in some cases documents, letters, maps, photographs of ancient artifacts and other primary material are available online in different formats from free websites or subscription services on the internet. Users of primary sources have always needed to examine their sources critically, but now with the proliferation of electronic resources from a wide variety of web site producers, evaluation is more important than ever before. Users of web resources must now consider the authenticity of documents, what person or organization is the internet provider, and whether the electronic version serves their needs. This brief guide is designed to provide students and researchers with information to help them evaluate the internet sources and the quality of primary materials that can be found online."
Most library catalogs (including CONSORT, OhioLink, WorldCat, and HathiTrust) use the same controlled vocabulary to apply subjects to items in the catalogs: Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). This means that once you find subject headings that work well for your topic, you can apply them across all these systems. LCSH are not intuitive like natural language keyword searching that we do via Google. For example, the subject heading for World War I is "World War, 1939-1945." Most catalogs will allow you to do an advanced keyword search within the subject heading field. "Primary resource" is not an LCSH heading or subdivision, so searching with that phrase won't help. But there are several subdivisions that contain primary resources that you can search for and you can use them in combination with your topic keywords in the subject headings advanced search. The table below outlines LCSH subdivisions that are helpful for searching for primary resources with examples.
| Subdivision | What Does It Identify? | Used Under What Kind of Heading? | Example(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archival Resources | Brief descriptions of types of documents/historical records, about a particular place or topic, available at an institution or institutions |
Countries, etc. Topics |
Canada--History--Archival resources |
| Archives | Collections of documents or historical records including notes, correspondence, minutes, photographs, legal papers |
Names of people Corporate bodies Educational institutions Types of corporate bodies/educational institutions Classes of persons Ethnic Groups |
Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954--Archives |
|
Autographs |
Collections or discussions of the person's autograph or handwriting |
Names of people Classes of persons |
Composers--Autographs |
|
Biography |
|||
|
Caricatures and cartoons |
Collections or discussions of caricatures or pictorial humor |
Names of people Corporate bodies Classes of persons Ethnic groups Names of wars Topical headings |
New York (State)--Politics and government--Caricatures and cartoons |
|
Catalogs |
Works listing objects located in organizations, institutions or particular places |
Names of artists Corporate bodies Types of organizations |
Fitzwilliam Museum--Catalogs |
|
Comic books, strips, etc. |
Names of people Topical headings |
Spiegelman, Art--Comic books, strips, etc. |
|
|
Correspondence |
Letters from and/or to the person or people; can be subdivided by -Catalogs |
Names of people Classes of persons Ethnic groups |
Nuns--Ireland--Correspondence |
|
Description - [dates] |
Add -Views for pictorial works |
Cities |
|
|
Description and travel- [date] |
Places |
Quebec (Province)--Description and travel |
|
|
Diaries |
Collections or discussions of the person's diaries and for individual diaries |
Names of persons Classes of people |
Working class women--Massachusetts--Boston--Diaries |
|
Early Works to 1800 |
|||
|
Facsimiles |
Types of printed materials Specific documents |
Manuscripts, Belarusian (Old)--Facsimiles |
|
|
History--Sources |
Collections or discussion of contemporary writings such as legal documents, letters, diaries, family papers, etc. assembled at a later time to serve as source material for research |
Countries Names of people Classes of persons Ethnic groups Topical headings not inherently historical |
Civil rights--United States--History--Sources |
|
Interviews |
Works consisting of transcripts of what was said during the course of the interview or conversations with a person on one or more occasions |
Names of people Classes of people |
Authors, Spanish--20th century--Interviews |
|
Library Resources |
Works describing the resources and special collections available |
Countries Names of people Corporate bodies Classes of persons Ethnic groups Topical headings |
Health education--Library resources |
|
Manuscripts |
Manuscripts - Catalogs Manuscripts - Facsimiles Manuscripts - Indexes Manuscripts - Microform catalogs |
Literary authors Literary works that enter under title Sacred works Groups of authors Names of literatures Topical headings |
Music--Manuscripts--Netherlands--Utrecht |
|
Maps |
Individual maps or collections of maps |
Countries, etc. Corporate bodies Topical headings |
Japan--Civilization--Maps |
|
Notebooks, sketchbooks |
Collections or discussions of the person's notebooks or sketchbooks |
Names of people |
Tsang, Fu Ji, 1958--Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc. |
|
Personal narratives |
Personal reminiscences or accounts by participants |
Names of events Names of wars |
Bataan, Battle of, Philippines, 1942--Personal narratives |
|
Pamphlets |
|||
|
Pictorial Works |
Names of people Named entities Classes of persons Ethnic groups Individual wars Topical headings |
Dachshunds--Pictorial works |
|
|
Portraits |
Collections or discussion of portraits of persons living after 1400; use --Art for those living before 1400 |
Names of people |
Rabbis--Portraits |
|
Posters |
Collections or discussion of posters depicting the person, group, etc. |
Names of people Corporate bodies Classes of persons Ethnic groups Individual wars Topical headings |
Local transit--United States--Posters |
|
Self Portraits |
Reproductions or discussion of self-portraits by the person |
Names of people |
Goya, Francisco, 1746-1828--Self-portraits |
|
Speeches |
|||
|
Statues |
Works discussing or containing reproductions of statues of the person |
Names of people |
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Statues |
| adapted from MIT Libraries History: Finding Primary Sources: Library of Congress Subject Headings, CC BY-NC | |||
Denison Libraries, 100 W College, Granville, Ohio 43023 Phone: 740-587-6235, email: reference@denison.edu In order to view PDF documents, you will need to have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed on your computer