What are Primary Sources?
Primary sources are raw materials of historical research - they are the documents or artifacts closest to the topic of investigation. Often they are created during the time period which is being studied (correspondence, diaries, newspapers, government documents, art) but they can also be produced later by eyewitnesses or participants (memoirs, oral histories). You may find primary sources in their original format (usually in an archive) or reproduced in a variety of ways: books, microfilm, digital, etc.
What are Secondary Sources?
Secondary sources are more critical analysis of events, movements, battles, etc. They are created by a person or persons who has/have the necessary distance in time and involvement from the event, movement, battle, etc. to write a less personal account. Secondary sources build upon and interpret primary sources, as well as secondary sources created by others. Thus, secondary sources are second-hand accounts because their creators are one-position removed from first-hand accounts.
Many primary sources can be found through the library's catalog. One good strategy when you are searching the library catalog is to begin with a simple keyword search to identify one or more relevant resources. Keyword terms used to find primary sources can include:
Once you identify a relevant item, use Library of Congress Subject Headings in the catalog record to narrow your search or find similar material. Subject headings are hyperlinked.
The Burney Collection Newspapers is a full-text digital archive of nearly 1,270 17th and 18th century newspapers and news pamphlets from the United Kingdom. Collected by the Reverend Charles Burney, this unique collection represents the largest single archive of 17th and 18th century news media available from the British Library. In addition, there are approximately three hundred "newsbooks." Circulated during the Civil War and the Commonwealth, newsbooks were small, cheap weekly pamphlets of current news, the precursors to modern newspapers, Finally, the collection also includes almost three hundred pamphlets and broadsides. The Burney Collection Newspapers chronicles a critical period in the political history of Great Britain and as well as the early history of journalism in the English-speaking world.
Abbreviation: bcn
Vendor: Gale
Coverage: 1603–1788
Subjects: History
Type: Historical / Primary Sources, Newspapers and Newswires
The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is another excellent resource for books, periodicals, manuscripts, newspapers, and archival materials in print, microfilm, and digital formats. FSU belongs to this international consortium of university, college, and independent research libraries, which allows FSU patrons to borrow CRL materials via interlibrary loan for extended periods.
CRL’s collection related to France is particularly strong in newspapers, official gazettes, legislative debates, and other government publications.
CRL France Topic Guide: http://www.crl.edu/collections/topics/france
Nexis Uni offers a simple, intuitive research experience with flexible search options and tools to help guide students through common research tasks. Nexis Uni offers the same trusted content collection of more than 17,000 news, legal and business sources that students and librarians alike have come to expect from LexisNexis, while also providing a better research experience.
Content:
Briefs, Pleadings and Motions
Cases
Company and Financial
Directories
Law Reviews and Journals
Legal News
News
Statutes and Legislation
Abbreviation: nexis
Vendor: LexisNexis
Subjects: Business, Business Legal Studies, Communication, Hospitality, Law, Psychology, Public Administration and Policy, Sociology
Type: Directories, Historical / Primary Sources, Newspapers and Newswires, Proceedings
This database includes:
NPR Transcripts from 1990–Current
Broadcast Transcripts from Nightly News local and national
World & US Newswires
Current full text of major metro newspaper articles
Log into NewsBank and create an account to save your search history, save articles, save searches, and create Email alerts.
To Create an Alert:
Enter a search that you're interested in.
On the results page click on Set up an Alert.
Choose to create the alert as a registered user or without registering.
Specify the frequency by which you'd like to receive your alerts.
If there are new results, NewsBank will send them to you in an email.
Abbreviation: infoweb
Vendor: NewsBank
Coverage: 1789–Current
Type: Government Publications, Historical / Primary Sources, Newspapers and Newswires
Log into NewsBank and create an account to save your search history, save articles, save searches, and create Email alerts.
To Create an Alert
Please note that FSU does not having a data-mining subscription with Newsbank. Downloading entire series or papers is prohibited.
Abbreviation: awn
Vendor: NewsBank
Coverage: 1903–Current
Subjects: Communication, Hospitality
Type: Newspapers and Newswires
Tutorials:
Guided tours
Abbreviation: eenlight
Vendor: Oxford University Press
Coverage: 17th–19th Century
Subjects: History, Literature, Philosophy
Type: E-Book Collections, Historical / Primary Sources
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