How to Find Primary Source Documents
Prepare yourself., Sort your secondary and tertiary sources by importance., Create a section in your notes for each secondary or tertiary source., Go through your secondary and tertiary sources., Prepare a structured list of the primary sources you...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Prepare yourself.
Choose a good way to take notes. -
Step 2: Sort your secondary and tertiary sources by importance.
Separate secondary from tertiary sources. , For example, create a card with the name of the source and information about it.
Leave space to fill in information about its primary sources. , For each one, extract whatever information you can about the primary sources used within the secondary/tertiary source and note it down.
The specifics differ depending on the type of the secondary or tertiary source, but mostly, the information can be found as follows:
Look for bibliographic, references, or sources sections in most books, encyclopedias and other research papers.
Usually all primary sources and citation sources are mentioned there.
All you have to do is separate the citation sources from the general ones.
Look within the title or subtitle of interpretative, explanatory, and guide books and paper materials.
Usually, a book about XYZ will have XYZ somewhere in the title.
Look up this specific source in the bibliographic/references section.
Look within the body of the article for mentions of the primary sources in the case of magazines, newspapers, periodicals, handouts, and websites or web pages.
This type of secondary or tertiary source is usually the hard one.
In many cases, you won't find the source immediately and you will have to dig deeper.
Sometimes, the source is not mentioned at all, in which case you should try one of the following:
Obtaining the primary sources from the author of the article in question:
From the publication, extract the name and contact information of the author (if possible).
If you couldn't obtain the contact information of the author from the article, look up the author in a directory service or online.
Most authors have websites that provide contact information.
If you could not find a way to contact the author, follow the second method of obtaining primary sources below.
Contact the author asking for the primary sources.
Use one communication method at a time, so as not to be confused with a spammer or a fan.
Discard the secondary or tertiary source.
If it does not cite sources, its text is unverifiable.
Obtaining the primary sources from the publishing company, organization, or institute of the publication:
Obtain the contact information of the publisher from the publication.
Use directory services or online search if the contact information is not explicitly stated.
Contact the company asking for the primary sources of the article.
State the title, the issue, the volume and any other information that identifies the article.
You might use the last method (obtaining sources from the publisher) in other cases, such as encyclopedia and other collective works. , You can use a spreadsheet application or a handwritten list.
You should fill out the following fields for each source:
Title.
The title of the source.
Type.
What type of documents is the source? Usually this is one of:
Works of art, architecture, literature, or music.
Magazine, newspaper, periodical, or an article in one of them.
Diary, journal or entry in a diary or journal Letter Proceedings (of meetings, conferences and symposia) Records of organizations, governments, or agencies such as:
Annual Reports Treaties By-laws and laws Decrees Memos Regulations Patents Original documents.
Such as:
Birth certificates Wills Marriage licenses Trial transcripts Web sites Internet communications on email, listservs, etc.
Survey research Interviews (oral histories, telephone, e-mail) Speeches Time Issued, published, or circulated.
Be as precise as you can be.
Serial Number/ISBN (if applicable).
Volume, issue, page and column (if applicable).
Edition (if applicable).
Publisher, author. , -
Step 3: Create a section in your notes for each secondary or tertiary source.
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Step 4: Go through your secondary and tertiary sources.
-
Step 5: Prepare a structured list of the primary sources you need to obtain from the information you collected earlier.
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Step 6: Sort the previously obtained list by document type.
Detailed Guide
Choose a good way to take notes.
Separate secondary from tertiary sources. , For example, create a card with the name of the source and information about it.
Leave space to fill in information about its primary sources. , For each one, extract whatever information you can about the primary sources used within the secondary/tertiary source and note it down.
The specifics differ depending on the type of the secondary or tertiary source, but mostly, the information can be found as follows:
Look for bibliographic, references, or sources sections in most books, encyclopedias and other research papers.
Usually all primary sources and citation sources are mentioned there.
All you have to do is separate the citation sources from the general ones.
Look within the title or subtitle of interpretative, explanatory, and guide books and paper materials.
Usually, a book about XYZ will have XYZ somewhere in the title.
Look up this specific source in the bibliographic/references section.
Look within the body of the article for mentions of the primary sources in the case of magazines, newspapers, periodicals, handouts, and websites or web pages.
This type of secondary or tertiary source is usually the hard one.
In many cases, you won't find the source immediately and you will have to dig deeper.
Sometimes, the source is not mentioned at all, in which case you should try one of the following:
Obtaining the primary sources from the author of the article in question:
From the publication, extract the name and contact information of the author (if possible).
If you couldn't obtain the contact information of the author from the article, look up the author in a directory service or online.
Most authors have websites that provide contact information.
If you could not find a way to contact the author, follow the second method of obtaining primary sources below.
Contact the author asking for the primary sources.
Use one communication method at a time, so as not to be confused with a spammer or a fan.
Discard the secondary or tertiary source.
If it does not cite sources, its text is unverifiable.
Obtaining the primary sources from the publishing company, organization, or institute of the publication:
Obtain the contact information of the publisher from the publication.
Use directory services or online search if the contact information is not explicitly stated.
Contact the company asking for the primary sources of the article.
State the title, the issue, the volume and any other information that identifies the article.
You might use the last method (obtaining sources from the publisher) in other cases, such as encyclopedia and other collective works. , You can use a spreadsheet application or a handwritten list.
You should fill out the following fields for each source:
Title.
The title of the source.
Type.
What type of documents is the source? Usually this is one of:
Works of art, architecture, literature, or music.
Magazine, newspaper, periodical, or an article in one of them.
Diary, journal or entry in a diary or journal Letter Proceedings (of meetings, conferences and symposia) Records of organizations, governments, or agencies such as:
Annual Reports Treaties By-laws and laws Decrees Memos Regulations Patents Original documents.
Such as:
Birth certificates Wills Marriage licenses Trial transcripts Web sites Internet communications on email, listservs, etc.
Survey research Interviews (oral histories, telephone, e-mail) Speeches Time Issued, published, or circulated.
Be as precise as you can be.
Serial Number/ISBN (if applicable).
Volume, issue, page and column (if applicable).
Edition (if applicable).
Publisher, author. ,
About the Author
Lori Bishop
Enthusiastic about teaching creative arts techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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