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WGSS Primary Sources

How to Find Primary Documents from the Internet

It is not hard to find primary sources on the open Internet search, but you must assess the validity and quality of the source.

Try some of these techniques in GOOGLE

Use these primary source keywords in searches, make sure to try different ones.

  • documents
  • texts
  • sources
  • "primary sources"
  • "personal narratives"
  • diaries
  • interviews
  • oral history
  • testimony

SAMPLE TOPIC: Documents of the Salem Witch Trials

  • Search Examples
    • salem and witch and documents
  • use quotation marks "to find phrases" "to find words next to each other". Put in quotation marks "primary sources" as a synonym for documents or texts
    • Example: salem and witch and "primary sources"
  • if you want to find synonyms in the same search, use OR in capitols (and your OR statements in parentheses).
    • Example: ​​​salem  and ("witch trials" OR witchcraft) and (documents​​ OR "primary sources" OR "original texts)

​SAMPLE TOPIC: Segregation in the United States

  • Search Techniques
    • use OR to find synonyms in the same search strategy:
      • Example: (segregated OR segregating OR segregation OR "jim crow" OR "separate but equal")
    • combine with some synonyms terms relating to primary document
      • Example: (documents OR sources OR diaries) and (segregated OR segregating OR segregation OR "jim crow" OR "separate but equal") 

These advanced techniques will only work in GOOGLE:

use formulation site:xx followed by a two letter country code, to find web sites based in that country. Find here the two letter codes This will find sites based in that country.

  • Example: Cuba and terrorism and documents and site:cu (will find sites in Cuba relating to terrorism)
  • Example: "armenian genocide" site:tr (will find information relating to the topic from Turkish websites)

consider searching for your topics in only certain domains of the Internet by entering these terms at the end of our search. Government sites (site:gov) or American sites (site:edu, may be inclined toward more reliability. You must assess this!)

  • site:gov (will find only U.S. or State government documents)
  • site:edu (will find only U.S. academic institution sites)
  • site:org (will find only non-profit sites, museums, organizations)
  • site:int (will find only sites that are "international" such as U.N. organizations)

Exmples:

  • "bracero program" and california site:gov
  • "oral histories" site:edu
  • "human trafficking"  documents site:int

***The information above is from a research guide created by Greg Armento https://csulb.libguides.com/primaryhist