HIST 406: Topics in National History (London): Articles, Books and Primary Sources

A primary source is "first-hand" information, sources as close as possible to the origin of the information or idea under study. Primary sources are contrasted with secondary sources, works that provide analysis, commentary, or criticism on the primary source. In literary studies, primary sources are often creative works, including poems, stories, novels, and so on. In historical studies, primary sources include written works, recordings, or other source of information from people who were participants or direct witnesses to the events in question. Examples of commonly used primary sources include government documents, memoirs, personal correspondence, oral histories, and contemporary newspaper accounts.

Search the Pepperdine University Libraries Catalog for books, ebooks, DVDs, journals, and more

By using a proper search strategy, the library catalog is an effective tool for lcoating books that are primary sources. WorldCat Local will search for items at the Pepperdine University Libraries and over 70,000 libraries worldwide.

Search by people who witnessed or participated in an event:

• Winston Churchill
• Leon Trotsky
• David Lloyd George
• T E Lawrence
• John Reed

The Library of Congress assigns subject headings that are useful for restricting your search to primaryu sources:

• correspondence
• diaries
• interviews
• pamphlets
• personal narratives
• sources
• biography (An autobiography is a primary source.Check to see if the author's name also appears in the subject field.)
• oral history

Please note: books with the phrase "documentary history" in the title often contain primary sources.

You can also restrict your search to books that were written at the time of the historical event to limit your results to primary sources.