Primary sources are original records created during the time under study. Because they were present during the experience, they offer an inside first-hand view of a particular event unfiltered by interpretation, criticism, or evaluation.
Some examples:
Use terms as Subjects that show subdivisions, e.g., personal narratives, sources, diaries, etc.
Examples:
Civil War - sources
Immigrants - personal narratives
Women's suffrage - diaries
Eleanor Roosevelt - letters
(Make sure the subdivisions above are plural . . . diaries and not diary).
*[Research interest or person] - correspondence or diaries
*Rule: Sources goes with topics; Archives goes with people and organizations. To be safe, try this: [research interest] - sources or archives
*From the book Magic search: Getting the best results from your catalog and beyond/Kornegay, R.S., et al. (2009), Chicago: American Library Association.
A guide to finding, evaluating, and using primary source materials created by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association (ALA).
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