Resource Guides: Primary sources: Home

Primary sources

Using this guide

This guide introduces you to physical and online resources and tools across the UNSW Library network, of which the Academy Library is a member. The information has been carefully selected to help you:

study or research history at UNSW
develop your skills in finding useful material irrespective of format
identify relevant publications held in both the Academy Library and UNSW Sydney Library.

Book a Librarian

For more in-depth questions relating to your research and information needs, get help from a Librarian. Bookings are welcome for students, researchers and academics. Get assistance with:

finding and evaluating quality resources for your assessments
understanding copyright
using the Library's collections.

Databases

These are the best databases for beginning primary source research. Primary sources are those that were written, created, or otherwise produced at the time of the event. They can include material such as news reports, letters, diary entries, film and audio, and other ephemera. Use these databases to find primary source material.

Adam Matthew - Research Methods for Primary Sources
Designed as a tool to support students of the humanities and social sciences, AM Research Methods introduces the key approaches to working with source materials and historical evidence.
Adam Matthew Digital Collections
Contains a large range of digital primary sources from archives and curated collections around the world, spanning the arts and social sciences and covering topics from Medieval manuscripts to 1960s ephemera.
Gale: Primary Sources
Provides an interactive research environment that allows researchers to cross-search a vast array of historical sources.

Click here to view the full range of primary source databases at UNSW.

Related Guides

First and Second World Wars

Australian military history