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Primary Sources/Secondary Sources: Finding Primary Sources

Primary Source Strategies

There are so many types of primary resources it is important to define your parameters by

  • Discipline (e.g. art, history, physics, political science)
  • Format (e.g. book, manuscript, map, photograph)
  • Type of information you need (e.g. numerical data, images, polls, government reports, letters)
  • Date range

On the next tab, Library Primary Resources, there are examples of terms you may search to find books with primary resource and links to archival collections at Northwestern's library.

Selected Guides with Primary Source databases

For other types of primary source materials check the guides in your subject area, or ask for assistance.