History Research Methods
Primary Sources for American History
Searching Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is a free tool that allows researchers to search across millions of primary source materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the United States (including the UWM Libraries). DP.LA is your best starting point for finding historical primary sources relevant to American History.
-
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
The Digital Public Library of America strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science. Contains materials from all the UW System Digital Collections, Recollection Wisconsin, the National Archives and Records Administration, University of California System, the Smithsonian, and the New York Public Library.
Searching the web for primary sources
Google and other search engines can be a powerful tool for searching for primary sources. There are countless digital collections and library websites with primary sources out there; to find them you'll need to know how to common keywords that describe primary sources and strong web navigation skills.
US History primary source databases
The UWM Libraries pays for a variety of search tools designed for finding primary sources. To use the search tools linked below, you may be prompted sign in with your UWM user name and password.
-
Alexander Street History Collections
Search primary sources and documentary films (secondary sources) related to topics in US and Europe from the following collections: American History in Video; British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries; Early Encounters in North America; North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories; North American Women's Letters and Diaries; The Gilded Age; The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960–1974; Women and Social Movements: Development and the Global South, 1919 - 2019, and Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000.
-
American Mosaic
Primary documents focusing on the history and culture of African Americans, Latino Americans and American Indians.
-
JSTOR Primary Source Collections
Explore primary sources from from libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies around the world including artworks, photographs, publications, and other artifacts.
-
Gale Primary Sources
Search across Gale primary source collections, including newspapers, archives, and more.
Primary Sources for World History
Using World Digital Library (WDL) to find primary sources
-
World Digital Library
Launched in 2009, the World Digital Library (WDL) was a project of the U.S. Library of Congress, with the support of UNESCO, and contributions from libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, and international organizations around the world.
Using Europeana to find primary sources
-
Europeana
Europeana enables people to explore the digital resources of Europe's museums, libraries, archives and audio-visual collections. It promotes discovery and networking opportunities in a multilingual space where users can engage, share in and be inspired by the rich diversity of Europe's cultural and scientific heritage.
Searching the web for primary sources
Google and other search engines can be a powerful tool for searching for primary sources. There are countless digital collections and library websites with primary sources out there; to find them you'll need to know how to common keywords that describe primary sources and strong web navigation skills.
World History primary source databases
The UWM Libraries pays for a variety of search tools designed for finding primary sources. To use the search tools linked below, you may be prompted sign in with your UWM user name and password.
-
Alexander Street History Collections
Search primary sources and documentary films (secondary sources) related to topics in US and Europe from the following collections: American History in Video; British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries; Early Encounters in North America; North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories; North American Women's Letters and Diaries; The Gilded Age; The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960–1974; Women and Social Movements: Development and the Global South, 1919 - 2019, and Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000.
-
Early English Books Online
Early English Books Online has over 125,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640), Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), and the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661). by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.
-
Gale Primary Sources
Search across Gale primary source collections, including newspapers, archives, and more.
-
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: A Wiley Digital Archives Collection
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: A Wiley Digital Archives Collection contains original primary source materials that have been discovered and researched for over a century by the members of the RAI. Special Features: Strong collections related to African and Asian culture and history
-
JSTOR Primary Source Collections
Explore primary sources from from libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies around the world including artworks, photographs, publications, and other artifacts.