IB IA: Primary Sources

From UC Long Beach, Greg Armento

Use these primary source keywords in searches, make sure to try different ones.

• documents

• texts

• sources

• "primary sources"

• "personal narratives"

• diaries

• interviews

• oral history

• testimony

SAMPLE TOPIC: Documents of the Salem Witch Trials

• Search Examples

  • salem and witch and documents

• use quotation marks "to find phrases" "to find words next to each other". Put in quotation marks "primary sources" as a synonym for documents or texts

  • Example: salem and witch and "primary sources"

• if you want to find synonyms in the same search, use OR in capitols (and your OR statements in parentheses).

  • Example: ​​​salem  and ("witch trials" OR witchcraft) and (documents​​ OR "primary sources" OR "original texts)

​SAMPLE TOPIC: Segregation in the United States

• Search Techniques

  • use OR to find synonyms in the same search strategy:

    • Example: (segregated OR segregating OR segregation OR "jim crow" OR "separate but equal")

  • combine with some synonyms terms relating to primary document

    • Example: (documents OR sources OR diaries) and (segregated OR segregating OR segregation OR "jim crow" OR "separate but equal") 

These advanced techniques will only work in Google: 

use formulation site:xx followed by a two letter country code, to find web sites based in that country. Find here the two letter codes This will find sites based in that country.

• Example: Cuba and terrorism and documents and site:cu (will find sites in Cuba relating to terrorism)

• Example: "armenian genocide" site:tr (will find information relating to the topic from Turkish websites)

consider searching for your topics in only certain domains of the Internet by entering these terms at the end of our search. Government sites (site:gov) or education sites (site:edu) may be inclined toward more reliability. You must assess this!

• site:gov (will find only U.S. or State government documents)

• site:edu (will find only U.S. academic institution sites)

• site:org (will find only non-profit sites, museums, organizations)

• site:int (will find only sites that are "international" such as U.N. organizations)

Exmples:

• "bracero program" and california site:gov

• "oral histories" site:edu

• "human trafficking"  documents site:int

Library of Congress: Chronicling America:  Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1949 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.

100 Milestone Documents Our Documents at the National Archives: This collection of 100 milestone documents has been compiled by the National Archives and chronicles the history of the U.S. from 1776 to 1965. Sources include public laws, Supreme Court decisions, inaugural speeches, treaties, constitutional amendments, and other documents that have influenced the course of U.S. history. Both original and transcribed copies are available.

The Avalon Project Yale Law School: This collection, which can be viewed chronologically from the fifteenth century to the twenty-first, includes documents selected for their importance in American legal history. Sources can also be searched by themed “Document Collections”.

Docs Teach, from the National Archives: This collection of over 3,000 primary documents is organized by historical era, from the nation’s founding to the present. Documents, including maps, charts, graphs, audio, and video, have been selected by National Archives Staff, and are photographic reproductions of historical sources.

Many Pasts History Matters project of CUNY Graduate Center and George Mason University: This feature of George Mason University’s History Matters project features prepared and selected primary documents in text, image, and audio about the experiences of ordinary Americans throughout U.S. history. The “full search” feature on the site allows users to choose resources by historical period, topic, type of resource, etc.

Smithsonian Source Smithsonian Institute: This collection of primary sources can be searched by keyword, type, or topic, and includes documents on Westward Expansion, Transportation, Civil Rights, Invention, Colonial America, and Native American history. Each set includes selected and excerpted documents.

Fordham University A good source for global history.  Will lead you to country-specific primary source documents.