History Research

Historical research is working to understand the past through the interpretation of primary and secondary sources. Sources may exist in the forms of texts, historic sites, recorded data, pictures, maps, images, artifacts, and more. The researcher's job is to find evidence, analyze its content and biases, corroborate it with further sources, and use those sources to develop an interpretation of past events.

Historians use libraries to:

• locate primary sources (first-hand information such as diaries, letters, and original documents) 
• find secondary sources (historians’ interpretations and analyses of historical evidence)
• verify factual material 

Different Types of Sources

Historical research depends heavily on primary and secondary research. These sources are used to create the historical argument a historian is making. Tertiary sources are important, too, but are not typically part of in-depth research. They are usually used more in the initial or beginning stages.

Primary Sources

Primary sources are direct from the time period in which they were created. These sources can give researchers insights into thoughts, feelings, actions, attitudes, culture, and more during a specific time. 

Examples of primary sources include, but are not limited to, some of the following:

• Eyewitness accounts 
• Newspapers from the time period
• Personal papers
• Diaries
• Legal documents
• Public records
• Art work
• Clothing
• Physical ephemera 
• Census data 

Typically, primary sources are found in archives. Archives are usually associated with organizations like libraries, universities, governments, or museums. They can also be independently run. 

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are resources that are developed through an evaluation of primary source evidence. These can be scholarly or for general consumption. Usually, what you are going to be using for your research will be scholarly secondary sources - though this can depend on your research needs and the instructions set by your instructor.

Examples of secondary sources include, but are not limited, to some of the following: 

• Monographs
• Journal articles
• Modern newspapers or magazines
• Biographies
• Documentaries
• Videos
• Edited Collections 

Secondary sources are typically found in libraries.

Tertiary Sources

Tertiary sources are a collection of primary and secondary sources. Tertiary sources are usually publications that you are not intended to read from cover to cover but to get the specific information you need. Often they provide background information or starting points much like you might get from a Wikipedia article.

Examples of tertiary sources include, but are not limited to, some of the following:

• Textbooks
• Encyclopedias
• Dictionaries  
• Bibliographies 
• Timelines 

Tertiary sources are also typically found in libraries.