HY 365: History of Islamic Civilization from 1453: Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary sources are direct examples of your research topic in real life.

Secondary sources are what other researchers have written after they researched the same topic as you.

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, 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.

I don't know what to look for

• Primary source book
• References in a book or article you like
• Searching a newspaper database with terms

I want to find a specific item

• Google Scholar - Searches most repositories and databases
• Project Gutenberg - Electronic copies of public domain books
• Interlibrary Loan - Request a physical copy of a book, article, or other item
• JSTOR
• Academic Search Complete