Library Workshop Series

Finally, we have one more set of variables to use when assessing a source. Is it primary, secondary, or tertiary? You may need each type of source at different times in a research project, so being able to quickly distinguish between them is an essential skill.

First we will review the chart to the right. Next, we will compare a specialized disciplinary database (secondary sources) to some primary source archives.

What is a specialized disciplinary database and how do I find one? 

1. First, it's specialized in your discipline, or area of study. This is mostly likely your major or college: History, Psychology, Literature, Engineering.
2. Second, for our exercise today, we are looking at databases that gather secondary sources like books and articles.
3. Go to our A-Z database list and look for your subject to start.

1. Check what you already have. Check the footnotes and reference of any articles and books about your topic, and see where those writers found their primary sources. They may identify a specific archive, data set, or oral history collection.
2. Check for books that include collections of primary sources. Books with a large collection of primary sources have a special subject used by the Library of Congress: sources. This means that you can search for books that have collections of primary sources in the library catalog. It's best to keep the topic broad. for example:
   • Turk* and German* and sources
   • Black and Britain and sources
   • France and education and sources and 20th century
3. Check for specialized library databases in the primary source category.
   • UMass Lowell University Library databases in primary sources
4. Check large archives aggregators, national libraries, and national archives. Keep in mind that national libraries and archives will present what that government thought was important to collect, describe, and share.
   • Digital Public Library of American (DPLA)
   • Europeana
   • National Archives of India
5. Search Google for the word "archives" plus a few words representing your broad topic. Next try some narrower topics, or specific content types like images or newspapers.
   • German newspaper archive
   • Black photography archive
   • Jewish art archive

The internet is full of amazing archival sources! This series of steps can help you start to identify the lay of the land in your area.

1. Search for "your topic + archive" or "your topic + primary sources" in Google. This may seem basic, but it works because Google cannot crawl within a specialized primary source or archive collection. Google will often be able to only find the "front door" -- the words and description on the home page. So a specific search for a specific kind of document might not always work, but a broad search on the topic will find potentially digital collections.
2. Check museum and archives websites, even if it seems like the bulk of the collection is physical. There may be smaller digital collections posted online, and they may give you very helpful historical context.
3. Check national libraries and archives of the relevant country, though remember that sources there will have been collected, described, and digitized according to the priorities of the central government of that country. National libraries and archives may also have collections of digitized newspapers or mass media.

Example topic: Turkish immigration and community in Germany.

• Start with a simple search for Turkish German archives.
• There are no immediate results, but we see an article outlining the state of the field
• And the references in that article bring us to several potential sources:
  • Germany in Transit - a "sourcebook", which is a history told through documents. Check the UML library catalog and there is the full ebook!
  • Multicultural Germany Project - a journal, blog, and other online resources maintained at the University of California - Berkeley.
  • Documentation Center and Museum of Migration in Germany (DOMiD) - tells the story of migration in Germany through a virtual museum.