Document Actions
Primary Source
PRIMARY SOURCE |
|
|---|---|
| Label |
Primary Source |
| Sub-Element |
-- |
| UNTL Definition | Material
giving a firsthand account of a historical subject. |
| Comment | Primary
sources give a firsthand account of a historical subject. They include
materials such as diaries, letters, maps, memoirs, newspapers, oral histories,
photographs, and pictures. Secondary sources are descriptions of a subject
based on primary sources. It is possible that the same document can be a
primary source in one aspect, and secondary in another. For further clarification, see Scholars' Definitions of Primary
Sources. |
| Required |
Mandatory |
| Repeatable |
No |
| Data
Type |
Boolean |
Input guidelines:
- If the resource is a primary source, click the check box on the metadata entry form to toggle "primary resource" on. A check will appear in the box.
- If the resource is not a primary source, leave the check box blank.
- To describe the category of the resource, use the Resource Type element.
Examples:
Primary resources.
- Diaries, personal journals, letters, memos, postcards, manuscripts, memoirs, autobiographies
- Private papers, deeds, wills
- Speeches, interviews, personal accounts, oral histories
- Documentary photographs, audio recordings, movies, or videos
- Government records, proceedings, court records, census data, patents
- Records of organizations (e.g. minutes, reports, correspondence)
- Public opinion polls, consumer surveys
- Scientific experiments, field notes, artifacts, schematic drawings, technical reports
- Maps
- Paintings, sculptures, jewelry
- Published materials (books and magazine/newspaper articles) written AT THE TIME about a particular event
- Reprinted primary sources (often in reference books such as Speeches of the American Presidents or Documents of American History)