What is a primary source?
A primary source is a document, image, artifact, or dataset that provides first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning the object of research.
Why should I use primary sources?
You should use this type of source to provide evidence for your thesis or the basis of your interpretation on a topic.
What are some examples of primary sources?
Primary sources may include, but are not limited to, artwork, correspondence, diaries, interviews, literary texts, material artifacts, newspapers, speeches, statistics, and videos.
Primary sources can also be found in published books. You can use the Tufts Catalog to search for them or in Libraries Worldwide. Using subject headings can help you find these primary sources:
The Library of Congress assigns subject headings to every book published in the US. These subject headings can be helpful in finding items related to your topic. If you'd like to use subject headings for your search, click on Advanced Search on our Tufts Catalog and some search boxes will appear. On the left-hand side, instead of Any Field, click that to change to Subject. Once you have made that change, you can do a search using subject headings. For example, you can do the following searches:
When you click on a book that seems of interest for your research, you can see other subject headings that correspond to that topic, and you can click on them and will take you to other items that have the same subject heading.