English 335: Gender and Modernism
Ask a Librarian
Information About Primary Sources
A primary source is a document or artifact created during the time period you are studying. It provides firsthand evidence, allowing you to analyze historical events, ideas, or experiences without outside interpretation.
Types of Primary Sources:
- Personal Accounts: Diaries, letters, memos/emails, autobiographies, interviews
- Speeches & Writings: Speech texts and recordings, manuscripts
- Legal & Government Documents: Laws, legislation, court rulings, patents, official records from governments, agencies, and organizations
- News & Media: Newspaper and magazine articles reporting events as they happened, news footage
- Research & Data: Journal articles presenting original research or experiments, raw data
- Artifacts & Material Culture: Buildings, clothing, jewelry, toys, fossils
- Creative Works: Poetry, novels, drama, music, art, photography, movies, scripts, performances
Recommended Databases for Finding Primary Sources
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LGBT Studies in VideoSubjects covered include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies, gender studies, history, and politics. Find documentaries, interviews, archival footage, and select feature films
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Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowA good place to search for articles in the New York Times that are three years old or older. Subjects covered include history, news, and a wide range of topics. Find primary sources: the full text and full image articles from the New York Times dating back to the 19th century.
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New York Times OnlineA good place to search for recent articles in New York Times. Full access to The New York Times Online. When first using the Libraries subscription to NYT Online, you will be prompted to create an account or associate an existing account with the UWGB subscription.
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NewspaperARCHIVE.com This link opens in a new windowSubjects covered include genealogy, history, and culture. Contains Wisconsin newspaper coverage.
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Newspaper Source Plus (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowSubjects covered include news and current events. Find comprehensive full text for major newspapers.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new windowA wide range of subjects covered. Find academic journals, reviews, articles, and books & book chapters.
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Times Literary Supplement (TLS) Historical Archive (Gale)The TLS historical archive provides searchable access to the full text of the Times Literary Supplement from 1902 through 2009. It includes more than 300,000 reviews, letters, poems and articles.
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Wall Street Journal OnlineAccess to The Wall Street Journal online.
- Log in with your UW-Green Bay credentials, which will tie your WSJ account to UWGB access; create a WSJ account using your UWGB email address.
- Going forward, you can access WSJ through the library link or go directly to the WSJ website and log in with your account to access content.
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AtlanticFull access to The Atlantic magazine online.
- Login with your UW-Green Bay credentials, which will tie your Atlantic account to UWGB access.
- Going forward, you can access The Atlantic through the library link or go directly through The Atlantic website.
- If you go directly to The Atlantic website, you’ll need to choose “Sign in through your institution,” find University of Wisconsin Green Bay, and login with your UWGB credentials.
- Login with your UW-Green Bay credentials, which will tie your Atlantic account to UWGB access.
Searching in JSTOR for Primary Sources
When you open the JSTOR database from the library's A-Z Databases list, you will see the "Advanced Search" page that is shown in the image below.
Enter your keywords into the boxes labeled "Term(s)."
After you enter your keywords and run the search, options will appear on the left side of the screen to refine the search results. For primary sources, choose the source types you are interested in from the list in the column marked "Primary source content." Once you select the source types you are interested in, your search results will automatically update.
