Primary Sources (digitized)

Question: What is a primary source?

According to the Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, "Primary Sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. Primary sources can include:

• Texts of laws and other original documents.
• Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did.
• Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote.
• Original research.
• Data sets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics.
• Photographs, video, or audio that capture an event."

In an ELA class, a primary source is typically the original book or text being read and analyzed.