These are items or original works that are a firsthand record of a topic. What is considered a primary source differs across different disciplines.
The following are a list of examples of primary sources in various disciplines:
- Anthropology, Archaeology: Ethnographies, surveys, articles describing research, cultural and historical artifacts
- Communications, Journalism: News (printed, radio, TV, online), photographs, blogs, social media sites
- Education, Political Science, Public Policy: Government publications, laws, court cases, speeches, test results, interviews, polls, surveys
- Fine Arts: Original art work, photographs, recordings of performances and music, scripts (film, theatre, television), music scores interviews, memoirs, diaries, letters, autobiographies
- History: Government publications, newspapers, photographs, diaries, letters, manuscripts, business records, court cases, videos, polls, census data, speeches, autobiographies
- Language and Literature: Novels (fiction), plays, short stories poems, autobiographies
- Psychology, Sociology, Economics: Articles describing research results of experiments, ethnographies, interviews, surveys, data sets
- Sciences: Articles describing research and methodologies, documentation of lab research, research studies
