Sources can be described as primary, secondary, and tertiary. These categories describe how many layers of interpretation a source has.*
Click the tabs at the top of this box to learn about each layer of interpretation.
*Many sources will have a combination of primary and secondary source information. It is rare to find raw information without any interpretation accompanying it.
A primary source is raw information. This can look differently depending on the discipline. In the sciences, raw information could be a data set; in the humanities, raw information could be the piece of art, a manuscript, or sound recording; in the social science, raw information could be a diary, newspaper clippings of an event, or census data.
Primary sources contain the information that is the focus of your research.
While the databases listed below can be used to find primary sources for a variety of topics, some disciplines have specific collections. See a subject guide for more resources.
A digital collection of monographs, essays, articles, speeches, and interviews by leaders within the black community.
Gale Primary Sources provides an interactive research environment that allows researchers to cross-search Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO), the Times Digital Archive, the Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive, Sabin Americana, 1500-1926, Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Womens Studies Archive. Users can also discover and analyze content in new ways.
A collection of primary source exhibits for students and scholars of queer history and culture. The database uses "queer" in its most inclusive sense, to embrace topics that are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender and includes work on sexual and gender formations that are queer but not necessarily LGBT. Each document collection in the database includes a critical introductory essay that helps explain the significance of the primary sources in historical terms and in relation to previous scholarship.
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Secondary sources are interpretations of raw information. They may or may not contain the raw data. For example, an anthology of letters written by a historical figure can contain the primary source of photographs or transcriptions of the original letters and be accompanied by the secondary source of short essays that provide context for the letters. Most books and journal articles will fall into this category.
Secondary sources provide context for the information at the focus of your research.
While the databases listed below can be used to find secondary sources for a variety of topics, some disciplines have specific databases or collections. See a subject guide for more resources.
This is a multi-disciplinary, full-text database which includes 4,000 peer-reviewed journals and indexing and abstracts for more than 9,000 journals.
Tertiary sources are collections of interpretations (secondary sources). Like secondary sources, they may contain parts of primary sources but the purpose of a tertiary source is to give a broad overview of the scholarly conversations around a primary source. These are typically referred to as reference sources like dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, textbooks, handbooks, literature reviews, etc.
Use tertiary sources to start your research.
While the databases listed below can be used to find tertiary sources for a variety of topics, some disciplines have specific books or databases. See a subject guide for more resources.
More than 200 dictionaries, encyclopedias, language reference and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. In addition to text, some sources include maps, illustrations, and Web links. Users can search one resource, a group of selected resources, or all of them at once. Regularly updated.
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Included in this database are the following titles:
Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment
Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages
The Oxford Classical Dictionary
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation
Full-text online from over 400 encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference books. Search a topic, build a concept map, or browse information sources organized by subject. Find text, images, sound files, sortable data tables and more.
Search over 600,000 biographies on more than 500,000 people by name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender as well as keyword and full-text. Also includes full-text articles from more than 300 magazines and newspapers.
This database focuses on the collective experience of the LGBTQ community while illuminating the personal experiences of individuals of different races, ethnicities, ages, religions, political orientations, and geographical locations that constitute this community. The archive contains personal correspondence and interviews with numerous LGBTQ individuals, gay and lesbian newspapers from more than 35 countries, reports, policy statements, and other documents related to gay rights and health, including the worldwide impact of AIDS, materials tracing LGBTQ activism in Britain from 1950 through 1980, and more.
A collection of primary source exhibits for students and scholars of queer history and culture. The database uses "queer" in its most inclusive sense, to embrace topics that are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender and includes work on sexual and gender formations that are queer but not necessarily LGBT. Each document collection in the database includes a critical introductory essay that helps explain the significance of the primary sources in historical terms and in relation to previous scholarship.
Jet Magazine Archive provides access to the entire print edition of the publication (1951-2014), offering a broad view of news, arts, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. Articles and cover pages are fully indexed and this database is cross-searchable with other EBSCOhost databases.
LGBT Magazine Archive traces the history and evolution of myriad aspects of LGBT history and culture, including legal contexts, health, lifestyle, politics, social attitudes, activism, gay rights, and the arts. This collection includes twenty-seven titles, including the Advocate, Out, Gay Times, Transgender Tapestry, and others.
Language can change drastically over time. Many primary source collections have simple search engines that look for your exact words in the text; synonyms are not automatically included and subject-searching capabilities are limited. Because of this, sometimes offensive slurs are the best way to find primary source materials.
Some historical search terms are: