Primary sources are documents or artifacts that provide firsthand information created in the time period being studied. Primary sources can be written documents, maps, photographs, audio or visual media, data sets, statistics, physical objects and other types of materials.
Primary sources are important because they are the original source of our knowledge about something or someone.
Types of primary sources can vary depending on the discipline you are working in.
See the information in the sidebar tabs for information about primary sources in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences, and Health Sciences.