Primary sources are documents or physical objects which were created--in many formats--during the time an event happened. We can think of it as a "first-hand testimony." Examples of primary sources:
Secondary sources offer evaluation, discussion, or analysis on primary sources and are usually created some time after the original time of the event. Examples of secondary sources:
The key to determining whether an item may be considered to be a primary source is to ask how soon after the event was the information recorded. This can be a problem with an autobiography, memoir, reminiscence, etc., if the author is working several years with only the memory of what happened. If you're not sure whether something is an acceptable primary source, ask your professor.
U.S. National Archives Administration home page provides helpful information when starting archival (primary source) research.
Search Tips
Some libraries and archives have web sites where they list and describe their research collections. The tips provided here should work for most internet search engines.
Quotes
Place your search phrases in quotes in order to find that exact phrase on web sites. Otherwise, the search engine may search for sites containing any word in your search terms. Do not use any spaces between the quotes and the phrase you want to search for.
Example: "theodore roosevelt"
Including Terms
Placing a plus sign ( + ) in front of your search term will require the search engine to find that term somewhere on the page, rather than in keywords which may be hidden in the coding in the background of the page. Do not use any spaces between the plus sign and the word you want to include.
Example: +"theodore roosevelt" +papers
Excluding Terms
If you do not want to see pages from popular web sites, such as Wikipedia or Amazon, you can use a minus sign ( - ) to exclude pages with these terms. Do not use any spaces between the minus sign and the word you want to exclude.
Example: -Amazon.
Adelphi Journals Specific to the Field of Primary Sources
Look for this Box in your Class Moodle on the Left