HY 496/596: Introduction to Public History: Home

Primary sources are direct examples of your research topic in real life. Primary sources are not secondary sources. Secondary sources are other people writing or talking about the same topic in a different way.

Primary sources are: 

• Directly limited by your topic
• Examples of your research topic in real life
• Proof of your claims

What counts as a primary source depends on your topic and topic scope. Please visit the Primary Sources LibGuide for more information.

If you were writing about how boxing champions were trained in the 1920s, your primary sources should all be direct proof of how 1920s boxing champions were trained. Some primary sources could be:

• a newspaper article written in 1920 by a direct observer of a boxing match
• 1920s boxing gloves
• a journal entry written in 1921 by a boxing trainer
• a source book of letters and essays written by 1920s boxers

For this topic, a book written in 1993 about the history of boxing would not be a primary source.

Always review websites for appropriateness. If the website fails any of these criteria, it doesn't automatically make the website a "bad source," but the site should be critically viewed before using it for an assignment.

• Purpose & Audience
  • Who is the site designed for?
  • Is the site scholarly or popular?
  • Are there advertisements on the site?
  • What is the overall purpose of the site?
• Authority & Credibility
  • Can the author of the site be identified? (Is the "author" an organization?)
  • Is there any contact information for the author or organization?
  • Do the author's qualifications show expertise on the subject?
  • Is the site affiliated with a particular organization?
  • What is the domain of the site (.edu, .gov, .org, .com)? 
• Accuracy & Reliability
  • Does the site appear to be well-researched?
  • Are there references supporting the site's statements or viewpoints? How well do the references relate to the site's claims? Are the references high-quality themselves?
  • Is it easy to tell which references support which claims?
  • Does the site include grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors?
  • How does the site compare to library resources available on the topic?
• Currency & Timeliness
  • When was this information on the website published?
  • When was it most recently updated?
  • Are there dead links on the page?
• Objectivity or Bias
  • Does the site present many opinions or just one?
  • Does the site present opinions or facts?
  • What biases can you identify?
  • Is the site sponsored by a company or organization?
  • Are any advertisements easy to distinguish from the informational content?
• Structure & Navigation
  • Is the site well organized? Can you tell what content goes together?
  • Is it easy to navigate between different pages on the site?
  • Does the site have a search box?

Finally, ask yourself these questions:

• Is this site a reliable, well-documented information source provided by a reputable author or organization?
• Would this be a good source of information for my assignment?