This guide was created to provide guidance on library resources and research skills for students in HY 496/596: Introduction to Public History offered at the University of South Alabama. We have a guide for How to Start a Research Project that covers the general research process. We also included more specialized suggestions here.
This guide is not comprehensive. It is designed to be a starting point for research. If you have any questions, please reach out to the subject librarian.
Primary resources are items that directly relate to your research topic. The difference between a primary resource and secondary resource depends on your research topic.
Primary resources are:
If you were writing about how boxing champions were trained in the 1920s, your primary resources should all be direct proof of how 1920s boxing champions were trained. Some primary resources could be:
For your topic, a book written in 1993 about the history of boxing would not be a primary resource.
Sometimes, it is appropriate to use websites as resources for research projects. Always evaluate a website for usefulness, accuracy, and trustworthiness before using the website as a reference. Even when using a website for personal research, always evaluate the likely accuracy of the content. This will help you avoid misinformation or disinformation.
You can evaluate a website by some criteria. You can use these criteria to form an impression of a website. If the website fails any of these criteria, it doesn't automatically make the website a "bad source":
Finally, ask yourself these questions:
