Databases and Sources for your Search

7 Primary Sources

Primary Sources

What are Primary Sources?

A good general definition of primary sources, as defined by Western Libraries, is that they are “documents or physical objects written or created during the time under study. Such sources were present during a specific time and offer an inside view of a particular event.”[1]

Specific materials you may try to find in your research can vary across disciplines, as we explain further below!

STEM

In STEM-related disciplines, primary sources typically mean items that contain original research with authors reporting their own findings.[2] These articles will include a hypothesis, methods, results, data, observations, and conclusion from the author who has conducted the study or experiment themselves.[3]

Examples of common primary sources in STEM could be technical reports, conference papers or proceedings, laboratory notebooks or reports, patents, theses and dissertations, or interviews.

What Should I Look Out For in an Primary Source Article?

To help you identify a scientific primary source, you can check for these characteristics[4]:

  1. Abstract and/or Introduction: you may see phrases like “this study” or “the results” or any other active language involving the authors to the workAbstract of a Pmirary Source STEM article, with the words "this study" and "the results" underlined
  2. Materials and Methods: you may see a reference to a “research method” or see a section in the article titled “Method” or “Methodology” or “Materials and Methods”. Carefully double-check this section, as secondary sources sometimes have these traits; a good tell is that primary article will refer to the kind of study that was conducted (ex. Clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, observational study, etc.)Abstract of a Pmirary Source STEM article, with the words "materials and methods" circled
  3. Results: you may see references to “results” throughout the study, and lists of contributions from the authors towards the understanding of this topic in the literature

 

Humanities and Social Sciences

In the Humanities and Social Sciences, you may be looking for primary sources that includes objects such as diaries, letters, newspaper articles, speeches, interviews, government documents, autobiographies, ethnographies, oral histories, artifacts from that time period, research data, news film footage, blogs and/or emails, photographs, videos, art, and more.[5] These types of sources all serve as raw materials to interpret social, cultural, or historical events.[6]

There would be information you need to know that will help you identify where you should look for these sources, such as knowing key figures or authors involved, dates, locations, geographic area, community language and knowledge, etc.

Important note: An extra consideration when looking at primary sources in the Humanities or Social Sciences is the time period or event you are studying: the date of the material’s composition has a role in whether it qualifies as a primary source.

A news article written in 2025 about World War II is not a primary source, but a news article written during that point in history (e.g. 1939) does qualify![7]

See the following example of a primary source if writing about the Canadian 2016 election, taken from the Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives, with photos of the contenders from the different political parties[8]

…and there is much more support through Research Guides and recommendations by your librarian!

Below is a brief curated list of primary source resources for you to look at during your research process, but if you’re curious about how this compares to secondary sources, keep on reading!

Resources

At Western

Select Online Collections with Primary Sources

Primary Source Guides

Media Attributions

  • Abstract STEM Primary Source Example from Brescia The Clever Reseacher
  • Materials and Methods STEM Primary Source Example from The Clever Researcher
  1. Campbell, Heather. “What Is a ‘Primary’ Source? How Do I Find Them?” The Clever Researcher, November 29, 2010. https://beryliveylibrary.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/primary-sources/. ↵
  2. Holmes, Katie. “What Is a Primary Source? (Science).” The Clever Researcher, June 15, 2022. https://beryliveylibrary.wordpress.com/2022/06/15/primarysource/. ↵
  3. Campbell, Heather. “What Is a ‘Primary’ Source? How Do I Find Them?” The Clever Researcher, November 29, 2010. https://beryliveylibrary.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/primary-sources/. ↵
  4. Holmes, Katie. “What Is a Primary Source? (Science).” The Clever Researcher, June 15, 2022. https://beryliveylibrary.wordpress.com/2022/06/15/primarysource/. ↵
  5. Campbell, Heather. “What Is a ‘Primary’ Source? How Do I Find Them?” The Clever Researcher, November 29, 2010. https://beryliveylibrary.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/primary-sources/. ↵
  6. Holmes, Katie. “What Is a Primary Source? (Science).” The Clever Researcher, June 15, 2022. https://beryliveylibrary.wordpress.com/2022/06/15/primarysource/. ↵
  7. Holmes, Katie. “What Is a Primary Source (Humanities/Social Science)?” The Clever Researcher, November 14, 2017. https://beryliveylibrary.wordpress.com/2017/11/14/what-is-a-primary-source-humanities/. ↵
  8. "PHOTO FINISH: PARTY LEADERS JUSTIN TRUDEAU, STEPHEN HARPER AND TOM MULCAIR MAKE A LAST, FRANTIC DASH FOR VOTES ON SUNDAY." 2015., Oct 19The Globe and Mail (1936-), 2. https://www.lib.uwo.ca/cgi-bin/ezpauthn.cgi?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/photo-finish/docview/2122294600/se-2. ↵

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