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Lusophone Studies

Resources for research in Lusophone Studies.

Thinking about Primary Sources

A primary source is an original source of information, written or created during the time period under study. Primary sources may include:

  • Original documents like diaries, manuscripts, photographs, film footage,  newspaper articles, speeches, and official records
  • Creative works like novels, poetry, music or artifacts like furniture, clothing, buildings

Contrast these with secondary sources, which interpret and analyze primary sources.  Secondary sources are generally written after the fact.

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Finding Primary Sources

Finding primary sources can be tricky.  Here are some ways to search for them:

1.  Search a primary source database

2.  Use library catalogs to find primary sources published in books. 

3.  Use the bibliographies of secondary sources.

4.  Search for manuscript and archival materials.  

5.  Search an index (not full-text, but sometimes the best for the topic). 

 

Digitized Primary Sources


Digital Libraries:


Digital Libraries:


Digital Libraries:

Interested in finding more primary sources that have been digitized?  These are some resources that can help:

Digitization projects

Web Archiving Projects

Published Primary Sources

Use these search terms- in addition to your keywords- in order to identify published primary sources at the library:

  • Archives
  • Interviews
  • Correspondence
  • Description and travel
  • Diaries
  • Manuscripts
  • Oral Histories
  • Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc.
  • Personal narratives
  • Pictorial Works
  • Speeches
  • Sources
These search terms are especially powerful if you place them in the "subject" field in the HoyaSearch advanced search option.

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