Often, the best work arises from close engagement with a primary source. As you read, you'll think of questions or begin to shape an argument. The hard part is to find a primary source that addresses the broad general area of interest. Here are some strategies for finding primary sources:
There are many collections of primary sources that have been typeset and published. You may find these easier to work with than primary sources in manuscript.
To find these sources, use the Library Catalog.
Search by Subject (keyword). Enter the subject heading (e.g., Indigenous peoples of North America—New Mexico), and add one of the following words
Sources: for general collections of primary sources
Diaries
Correspondence: letters, etc.
Personal narratives
Biography (includes Autobiography)
Cross-searching tool for Gale primary source collections (including Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, Indigenous Peoples: North America, and Brazilian and Portuguese History and Culture). Also allows users to analyze content using frequency and term-relationship tools.
Coverage depends on the newspaper. American Hebrew and Jewish Messenger (1857-1922); American Israelite (1854-2000); Arizona Republican (1890-2007); Atlanta Constitution (1868-1985); Atlanta Daily World (1931-2010); Austin American Statesman (1871-1980); Baltimore Afro-American (1893-2010); Baltimore Sun (1837-1999); Barron's (1921-2010); Boston Globe (1872-1994); Calgary Herald (1883-2010), Call and Post (Cleveland) (1934-1991); Chicago Defender (1909-2010); Chicago Tribune (1849-2015); Christian Science Monitor (1908-2011); Cincinnati Enquirer (1841-1922);Cleveland Call & Post (1934-2010); Dayton Daily News (1898-1922); Detroit Free Press (1831-1999); Edmonton Journal (1903-2010), Globe & Mail (1844-2021); Guardian and the Observer (1791-2003); Hartford Courant (1764-1998); Hindustan Times (1924-2010); Indianapolis Star (1903-2004); Irish Times (1859-2022); Jerusalem Post (1932-2008); Jewish Advocate (1905-1990); Jewish Exponent (1887-1990); Korea Times (1956-2016); Le Monde (1944-December 30, 2000); Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan) (1883-2010); London Evening Standard (1827+); Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005); Los Angeles Times (1881-2016); Louisville Courier Journal (1830-2000); Michigan Chronicle (1936-2010); Minneapolis Star Tribune (1867-2001); Montreal Gazette (1857-2010), Nashville Tennessean (1812-2009); New York Amsterdam News (1922-2010); New York Times (1851-2021); New York Tribune (1841-1962); Newsday (1940-1996); Norfolk Journal and Guide (1916-2003); Ottawa Citizen (1845-2010); Philadelphia Inquirer (1860-2001); Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001); Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002); Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1786-2003); Province (1898-2010); San Francisco Chronicle (1865-1922); St. Louis American (1949-2010); St. Louis Dispatch (1874-2003); St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay Times (1886-2009); Saskatoon Star Phoenix (1902-2009); Scotsman (1817-1950); South China Morning Post (1903-2001); Times-Colonist (Victoria) (1884-2010); Times of India (1838-2012); Toronto Star (1894-2022); Vancouver Sun (1912-2010), Wall Street Journal (1889-2013); Washington Post (1877-2008); Windsor Star (1883-2010). Also includes a Chinese Newspapers Collection (1832-1953) and a collection of American and British Communist papers (1917-2013).