LibGuides: ENG 104: Primary Sources

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Bias in Primary Sources

Don't believe everything you read. Primary sources recount an interpretation of an event, they do not describe the event-as-it-happened. Remember that the person who created your document had opinions, agendas, and in some cases may be misleading you. As a scholar, you need to think critically about a document before you accept it's version of events at face value. Here's a helpful checklist to consider as you evaluate primary sources

Who created the document? What was their profession, values, beliefs, anything that might influence how they narrated a historical event
Can you find two versions of the same event? For example, if you select Marcus Whitman's letters, can you also find documents or accounts of the Whitman Mission from his wife, or the native population?
Where did you find the document? If you searching for images of the Samish tribe, images you find in SAM or the tribal website are probably more credible than the images you find in a google search.

Primary Source Collections

American Memory
Includes a variety of content from events in US history, ranging from documents, oral histories, videos, images, and other formats
Digital Public Library of America
DPL has digitized millions of items from libraries, archives, and museums, and made them available to you.
The National Archives of the United States
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever.

Those valuable records are preserved and are available to you, whether you want to see if they contain clues about your family’s history, need to prove a veteran’s military service, or are researching an historical topic that interests you.
ScholarWorks, the CWU digital repository
ScholarWorks at Central Washington University is a digital showcase of the research and scholarly output of members of the University community. The ScholarWorks repository is administered by the James E. Brooks Library and serves as a permanent digital archive for these scholarly materials, as well as information pertinent to our community at large.
Early English Books Online
The Text Creation Partnership creates standardized, accurate XML/SGML encoded electronic text editions of early print books.
World Digital Library
This site makes available, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.