Primary Source Databases:
Table of Contents
In the Arts and Humanities:
If it's linked, it's a free online database - else, check to see if the patron's library has a subscription
News and Newpapers:
Canadian Newsstand - BCIT, CAM, CAP, CNC, DC, ECIAD, JIBC, KUC, LC, MUC, NIC, NLC, NWCC, OC, RRU, SC, SFU, TRU, TWU, UCFV, UBC, UNBC, UVic, VCC, YC
Proquest Historical Newspapers - SFU, UBC
The Globe and Mail: Canada's Heritage from 1844 - CAM, DC, KUC, NLC, OC, UCFV, UBC
Lexis Nexis - SFU, UBC, UNBC
Factiva
CBC Archives
History:
In the First Person (some free full text)
Project Gutenberg (all free and out of copyright- some non-fiction (eyewitness accounts))
Universal Digital Library - (all free - most entries are out of copyright - plugin needed to view full text - 1.5 million texts)
Proquest Historical Newspapers - SFU, UBC
eHRAF - SFU, TWU, UCFV, UBC, UNBC, UVic
The WWI Document Archive
Duke Digital Collections - with federated search: a variety of American and international subjects
Harvard University Library Web-Assessible Collections - (American and international)
Yale University Library Digital Collections (some freely accessible)
Historical Photographs
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalogue
Library of Congress Photostream on Flickr
Canadian History:
Early Canadiana Online (some free full text - search results in bold)
Canadian Heritage Galleries
The Globe and Mail: Canada's Heritage from 1844 - CAM, DC, KUC, NLC, OC, UCFV, UBC
Canada In the Making Primary Sources
Canadian Pamphlets and Broadsides Collection
Canadian History: Historical Photographs
British Columbia Historical Photographs Online
City of Vancouver: Scanned Photographs
Canadian Heritage Galleries
Images Canada
Virtual Museum Canada
American History:
Institute of Museum and Library Services: Digital Collections and Content Federated Search (US)
AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American History
Library of Congress: American Memory
Cornell University Library: The Making of America
University of Michigan: Making of America
National Archives and Records Administration - some free full text
North American Slave Narratives
New York Public Library Digital Gallery - access to low resolution images available - permission needed for use of hi-res images
University of Washington: American History to 1865
University of Washington: American History from 1865
University of Washington: African American History
University of Washington: Native American History
University of Washington: Pacific Northwest History
Alabama Mosaic
Alaska Digital Archives
Calisphere (California History)
Indiana Historical Society Digital Images
American History: Historical Photographs
Historical Photograph Collections at the Arizona State Archives
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection Database
Wisconsin Historical Society Historical Images and Museum Collections
European History:
The Avalon Project - 18th -21st C.
EuroDocs (Western Europe)
Free Library of Philadelphia: Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook -Ancient Mesopotamia to Early Christian Era
Internet Medieval Sourcebook -End of Roman Empire to Reformation in Europe
Internet Modern History Sourcebook -Reformation in Europe to 20th C.
World History:
African History
Asian History
Latin American History Sources
Sub-Saharan African History Sources
Library of Congress International Collections
Fine Arts:
ArtStor
British Columbia Sheet Music
Theatre Ephemera
Database of Virtual Art
Library of Congress: American Memory
Photomuse: History of Photography
Literature:
Project Gutenberg
Early English Books Online
Complete Works of Shakespeare
Sacred Texts Online
Library of Congress: American Memory
Political Science:
Lexis Nexis: (newspapers, treaties, public opinion polls) - SFU, UBC, UNBC
LegisInfo
Official Documents of the UN
Canada In the Making: Primary Sources
Stats:
BC Stats - BCIT, CAM, CNC, COTR, DC, JIBC, KUC, LC, MUC, NIC, NLC, NWCC, OC, RRU, SC, SFU, TRU, TWU, UCFV, UBC, UNBC, UVic, VCC
CANSIM
Sources for Statistics (free online)
Citations for Primary Source Documents and Images
Guide to Finding and Citing Images from Camosun College Library
In the Sciences and Social Sciences:
Most science, health, and social science databases contain large numbers of primary source documents. In fact, primary source documents usually outnumber secondary sources in these databases.
If you want to search for only primary sources, there are three main strategies to try:
1. Limit to primary sources
Most databases have a "limit search" or "refine search" option. Usually, you will be presented with the opportunity to limit by Document/Publication/Article Type. Try limitting to things that have the words: experiment(al), trial, empirical, study, or research.
Pros: It's quick
Cons: You won't get all of the primary sources available
2. Remove the Review articles
Most databases have a "limit search" or "refine search" option. You can almost always limit to Review articles (sometimes called Literature Review articles), and/or Systematic Review articles. Once you have selected the Review articles, use the Boolean NOT operator to remove the Review articles from your search.
Pros: It's quick
Cons: You won't have removed all of the non-primary sources from your list of search results. You will still need to evaluate the remaining search results (see below).
3. Evaluate the articles
It's relatively easy to determine if an article is a primary source. If you have the full text of the article, look for a "Methods" or "Materials and Methods" section. Read this section to determine whether an experiment or study was performed. If there no Methods section, you can be pretty sure that it's not a primary source.
If you don't have the full text of the article, read the abstract. Usually you can tell from the abstract whether the article is reporting on an experiment/study, or whether it is reviewing the literature.
Pros: It's accurate and comprehensive
Cons: It takes time
Guides to Finding Primary Source Documents:
Arts & Humanities:
Primary Sources from UBC library
Primary Sources: Definition and Resources from SFU library
Locating Primary Sources in History from DC library
Sciences:
Primary Literature in the Sciences - from University of Richmond Library
Locating Primary Sources in the Sciences - from DC library
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