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HIST 7633 - The Family in Modern Europe: Find Primary Sources

This guide contains library and web-based information for graduate students enrolled in Dr. Belzer's Readings in European History

Image Credit: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens by NDLA. Used Under CC BY-NC-SA. 

A General Strategy for Finding Primary Sources

  • Examine the bibliography, notes, and acknowledgments in a recent and reputable secondary work related to your research area. Determine if the author provides information on the location of primary sources.
     
  • Identify key individuals associated with the events you are researching. If the person is a notable figure, deceased, and either British or American, refer to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. These sources usually offer comprehensive bibliographies, guiding you to the whereabouts of the individual's papers.
     
  • Conduct a search on Worldcat.org or Worldcat First Search using the person's name as an author. This search will yield both published and unpublished materials related to the individual. Similarly, if you identify an organization relevant to your research, conduct a search using the organization's name as an author.
     
  • Explore ArchiveGrid, similarly to Worldcat. 
     
  • Conduct a Google search on your topic, incorporating terms like "papers," "records,""archives," or "digital collections" to discover additional relevant resources. Please note: Exercise caution to ensure that the resources originate from a reputable institution; verify the domain for reliability.

Published v. Unpublished Primary Sources

Unpublished primary sources are original documents and objects created by individuals but not formally published. Unpublished materials are typically found in archives, libraries, and museums. While researching unpublished materials often requires a physical visit, many make them available online. 

Published primary Sources include a wide range of publications, including first-person accounts, memoirs, diaries, letters, newspapers, statistical reports, government documents, court records, photographs, and more. Some of these materials were not published at the time of their creation but have subsequently been published in a collected volume (e.g. Andrew Bryson's Ordeal: An Epiloque to the 1798 Rebellion.)

Find published sources by using Library Catalogs, Research Guides, and published bibliographies. To find primary sources in catalogs try using the following strategies:

  • Search by publication date (1798) to find sources published during the time period
     
  • Use advanced search options to restrict material type
     
  • Include the following subjects in your search: Correspondence, Letters, Sources, Diaries, Personal Narratives, Interviews, or Speeches