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Primary sources can include: Texts of laws and other original documents. Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did. Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote.

Applies three key steps to analyzing primary sources (observe, reflect, question).

However, these seven basic steps can help you conduct your own document analysis: List your resources. ... Decide how to organize the information. ... Make copies for notes. ... Ensure authenticity. ... Check for biases. ... Ask questions. ... Evaluate the document.

Examples of primary sources: Theses, dissertations, scholarly journal articles (research based), some government reports, symposia and conference proceedings, original artwork, poems, photographs, speeches, letters, memos, personal narratives, diaries, interviews, autobiographies, and correspondence.

Primary sources – artifacts, artwork, documents, diaries, manuscripts, oral histories, speeches, and transcripts are a few examples – are the records historians use as evidence to make arguments about the period of study they are working on.

Primary source analysis is exactly what it sounds like: an analysis of a primary source. You probably heard the term “primary source” often in school. It's referred to as a first-hand experience or account of an event, person, or object.

What are primary sources? Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects that were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts that retell, analyze, or interpret events, usually at a distance of time or place.

How to Analyze a Primary Source Look at the physical nature of your source. ... Think about the purpose of the source. ... How does the author try to get the message across? ... What do you know about the author? ... Who constituted the intended audience? ... What can a careful reading of the text (even if it is an object) tell you?