Primary source examples

  • A List of Primary Sources and Examples
    SourceExample
    DiariesThe Diary of Anne Frank, which provides a first hand account of life as a Jew in hiding during the Holocaust.
    Interviews (including recordings or transcripts)Barbara Walter's 2001 interview with George W. Bush regarding his impending inauguration.
    LettersAbraham Lincoln's Dec 26, 1864 letter to General Sherman congratulating him on his military capture of Savannah several days before.
    Raw dataWind speed measurements from the weather monitoring station at Barbers Point.
    Official documentsThe U.S. Declaration of Independence.
    Court records and transcriptsTranscripts of testimony given before Judge David Ezra regarding the impact on longline fisheries on Hawaii's population of endangered turtles.
    PhotographsTwo aerial photographs of the shoreline taken ten years apart, revealing the extent of coastal erosion in the area.
    Journal articles that report the findings of original research, and which are written by the researchers themselvesE.F. Cox and S. Ward. "Impact of elevated ammonium on reproduction in two Hawaiian scleractinian corals with different life history patterns." Marine Pollution Bulletin, 44 (2002): 1230-1235.
    Newspaper articles reporting on current eventsAn article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin describing a multi-car crash on H-1 that happened the day before.
    AutobiographiesA Living History, Hillary Rodham Clinton's book about her experiences as the First Lady.
    SpeechesMartin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
    Creative works such as novels, plays, poems, music and artThe song Aloha Oe by Queen Liliuokalani.


    SUBJECTPRIMARYSECONDARY
    Art and ArchitecturePainting by ManetArticle critiquing art piece
    Chemistry/Life SciencesEinstein's diaryBookon Einstein's life
    Engineering/Physical SciencesPatentNTIS database
    HumanitiesLetters by Martin Luther KingWeb site on King's writings
    Social SciencesNotes taken by clinical psychologistMagazine article about the psychological condition
    Performing ArtsMovie filmed in 1942Biography of the director