Why to use primary sources

• Gain a firsthand perspective on people, objects, and/or events
• Better understand historical attitudes and language
• Evaluate evidence for yourself without mediation or interpretation

Types of primary sources

• Letters or emails
• Diary or journal
• Photograph
• Newspaper article (note: some editorials, reviews, and features may be secondary sources)
• Object
• Report
• Legislation/Laws/Ordinances
• Video footage
• Social media: personal statements, real-time coverage of an event
• Interview

Places to search

• New York Times (Sign up for a free RISD subscription)

            Note: newspaper articles/features are not always primary sources

• Library of Congress > Researchers > Research Guides > Policing in America | About the Library of Congress
• Chronicling America  | About Chronicling America
• NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) | About NARA
• NYPL Digital Collections | About
• See Also: ArchiveGrid

For additional archival sources, see the list of recommended Archival Materials on Databases A-Z.

Why to use secondary sources

• Analyze a topic from a specific perspective or ideology
• Understand a topic in context
• Discover resources related to a topic

Types of secondary sources

• Books: most non-fiction
• Scholarly journal articles
• Magazine articles
• Social media: commentary or analysis
• Documentary

Places to search

Fleet Library website: library.risd.edu

• Select the CATALOG tab to search for books, ebooks, media, Archives, Special Collections
• Select the FLEET SEARCH tab to search for items from the catalog  + journal articles, newspaper articles, book reviews, etc.

Brown University Library website: library.brown.edu

• BruKnow searches for all materials available through Brown's Libraries

Tertiary sources

Tertiary means "third". These are sources that index, abstract, organize, compile, or digest other sources. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered tertiary sources when their chief purpose is to list, summarize or simply repackage ideas or other information. Tertiary sources are usually not credited to a particular author.