How to Do Library Research

Examples of primary sources:

• private diaries
• photographs
• direct results of research
• laws--(U.S. Constitution)
• novels, poems, plays
• movies, screenplays
• interviews with the person(s) directly involved
• contracts
• a report written by a witness of an event (composed that day); for example, newspaper articles describing that day or previous day's events;
  "contemporary" accounts
• musical score
• results of an experiment or a poll
• documents directly relevant to an event or issue
• artifacts--tools, clothing, furniture, buildings, etc.
• letters
• annual reports of companies
• speeches
• autobiographies (ripe for misrepresentation, although some are frankly truthful)
• paintings, sculptures, carvings, posters, other art work
• textiles (fabrics)

When writing a paper about a work of fiction, the novel, play, or poem is your primary source for information; secondary sources (critical studies, etc.) may help explain or interpret the text, but the text itself should be used as the main basis for any proofs and persuasions.

A secondary source is one that describes an event or issue from a distance. Good secondary sources use primary sources to compile their information. Examples of secondary sources are encyclopedias, handbooks, guides, textbooks, and many (if not most) non-fiction books and articles