Databases with Primary Sources
Some of the Tutt Library databases containing primary source materials. See also the drop down under books for other sources.
- Afghanistan and the U.S. 1945-1963 (Archives Unbound-Gale) This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1945-1963 This collection of U.S. State Department Central Classified Files relating to internal and foreign affairs contains a wide range of materials from U.S. diplomats, including special reports, studies, statistics, legal documents, letters, translations of reports and articles from foreign newspapers and journals, speeches and transcripts. A wide range of subjects are covered including the politics, economics, and culture of Afghanistan. Part of Archives Unbound. - African Women Bibliographic Database This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1980s- current. Indexes English language materials: books and government documents; articles in edited books; periodical and journal articles; theses and dissertations; conference papers; videocassettes. Some full text.
- AGRICOLA This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1982 - current. This resource covers 'all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines, including plant and animal sciences, forestry, entomology, soil and water resources, agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, agricultural products, alternative farming practices, and food and nutrition.'
- American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1848 - 1897. 100,000+ pages of diaries, letters and memoirs by 2000+ authors. Includes many previously unpublished manuscripts. Organized for detailed browsing and searching. Some materials are cross-searchable under Social and Cultural History. - American Indian Movement and Native American Radicalism This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1968-1979. Collection of FBI files providing detailed information on the evolution of AIM (American Indian Movement) as an organization of social protest and the development of Native American radicalism. Part of Archives Unbound. - American West This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1700's-1900's. Selected manuscripts, maps, ephemeral material and rare printed sources from the Everett D. Graff Collection of Western Americana at the Newberry Library, Chicago. - AP Images This link opens in a new window
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Over one million photographs provided by the Associated Press. Photos range from up-to-the-minute to historical. Also includes political cartoons. Can be used for educational purposes such as presentations and papers. - Black Thought and Culture: African Americans from Colonial Times to the Present This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1700 - 2006. Black Thought and Culture contains 1,200+ sources covering the non-fiction published works of leading African Americans. Includes non-fiction works, interviews, journal articles, speeches, essays, pamphlets, letters and other fugitive material. Also includes the Black Panther newspaper from 1967-1980. Allows for advanced browsing and searching. Some materials are cross-searchable under Social and Cultural History - Congressional (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to congressional and legislative information. Includes information about members of congress like voting records, addresses, etc. - CQ library This link opens in a new windowCoverage: Nov. 1991 - current. This weekly publication covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, insight into all sides of the issues, bibliographies and more.
- OSTI.gov This link opens in a new windowU.S. Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information. Full-text documents and bibliographic citations of DOE research literature in physics, chemistry, materials, biology, environmental sciences, energy technologies, engineering, computer and information science, renewable energy, and other topics; primarily from 1991 forward. Formerly known as DOE Information Bridge.
- Federal Surveillance of African Americans, 1920-1984 This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1920-1984. Collection of documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Library. Includes COINTELPROs file on Black Nationalist groups from 1956-1971; also contains FBI files on notable figures such as Malcom X, Paul Robeson, Jesse Jackson and W. E. Dubois, as well as groups such as the Black Panthers and NAACP. Illustrative of conservative and government concerns over communism, socialism, civil rights, and other issues of this era. Part of Archives Unbound.
- Government Printing Office- federal documents and publications including: codes and regulations; Presidential Documents; laws; Congressional bills, documents, hearings, record, reports; Constitution with analysis and interpretation; Economic Indicators; Federal Register
- Gender Studies Database This link opens in a new windowCoverage: pre-1972 - current. Combines the Women's Studies International and Men's Studies databases with sexual diversity issues and gender-engaged scholarship. Source documents include professional journals, conference papers, books, book chapters, government reports, discussion and working papers, theses & dissertations, and freely available full text articles & documents on the Web.
- GreenFILE This link opens in a new windowScholarly and popular articles, government documents and reports from over 600 titles dealing with the interaction between humans and the environment.
- Jewish Studies Source This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1922-current. Periodicals, monographs and biographies contributing to the multidisciplinary view of Jewish civilization, covering all facets of Judaism. Also contains the complete full text of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
- Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries from the American Antiquarian Society, 1750-1950 This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1719 - 1976. Growing collection of writings of women from the 18th-20th centuries, drawn from the American Antiquarian Society. Offers advanced browsing and searching, and high-quality scans. Some materials are cross-searchable under Social and Cultural History. - NBER working paper series This link opens in a new windowCoverage: November 1994 - current. NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) working papers focus on empirical research such as the development of new statistical measures, effects of public policy on U.S. economy, and estimating quantitative models of economic behavior. The papers are searchable by subject and available fulltext.
- North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1784 - 2004. 100,00 pages of letters, diaries, oral histories, interviews and other personal narratives by 2,000+ authors. Some audio recordings are available. Material is organized for advanced browsing and searching. Some materials are cross-searchable under Social and Cultural History. - North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1675 - 2002. 150,000+ pages of diaries and letters from over 1,300 women, supplemented with biographies and bibliographies. Browse and search by detailed factors like author, race, occupation, age at first childbirth, year written, and geographical setting. Cross-searchable under Social and Cultural History. - Oral History Online This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1930 - 2008. Growing index to 2,700+ collections of oral history in English from around the world; 280,000+ pages by over 9,000 individuals and pointers to thousands of audio/video files. Browse the Table of Contents by repository, interview, date, place, event or subject. Advanced search allows for detailed searching by factors like names, ages, historical events discussed, and more. - Overland Journeys: Travels in the West, 1800-1880 This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1800-1880. Comprised of selections from the microfilm collections "Travels in the We
Description Display
Display beneath item titlest and Southwest" and the "Plains & Rockies", this digital collection provides a unique window on Western History. Documents include books, articles, and diaries. Part of Archives Unbound. - Proquest Congressional This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: N/A. Indexing and abstracting of the CIS/Index to publications of the U.S. Congress from 1970 forward. - Social and Cultural History: Letters and Diaries Online This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1558 - 2005. Cross-searchable collection of databases containing letters, diaries, oral histories, memoirs and autobiographies. The focus is on personal narratives written or published in North America. Offers advanced browsing and searching of date, place, author/speaker, interviewer, event, subject and more. - Women and Social Movements in the United States 1600-2000: Scholar's edition This link opens in a new window
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Coverage: 1600 - 2000. Growing collection of documents related to women and social movements in U.S. history. Includes primary source documents, images, dictionary of movements, biographical dictionary, chronology, reviews, notes, and teaching tools. Organized for in-depth browsing and searching.
What is a primary source?
| Primary source: describes material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied that was created in the time under study |
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Examples:
- an artifact, a document, a recording
- new scientific data, results, and theories
- official reports, speeches, pamphlets, posters, or letters by participants, and official election returns
- records created by organizations, such as registers of births, tax records, charters, other legal documents, etc.
- eyewitness accounts, oral interviews or documents created by a person with direct knowledge of a situation
- diaries, films, biographies, leading philosophical works, scientific works
- fictional sources such as novels or plays
- physical objects like photographs, newsreels, coins, paintings or buildings
Secondary sources:
- cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources
Note: a primary source may at times be treated like a secondary source