Primary and Secondary historical sources explained.

1. HIST 531
History of Women in the United States 1870 to the
Present
Edwards Campus Spring 2015

2. Researching United States historical topics often involves going
to the historical documents themselves rather then just reading
about them.

3. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

6. Washington Post /
February 20, 1902

8. 1905

9. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/index.html

11. When searching for primary sources—fundamental,
authoritative, contemporary documents used to prepare later
works—historians often overlook the abundance of published
primary source material. Women's diaries, correspondence,
and autobiographies that have been printed either by the
women themselves or someone else, either at the time of
composition or centuries later, are primary sources and are
found in abundance in the General Collections.
In addition to primary sources, researchers also look for
secondary sources: books and articles describing and analyzing
occurrences outside the writer's personal experience. The
General Collections hold thousands of volumes of secondary
sources. An item can be both a primary and a secondary
source. When Mary Ritter Beard published her Woman as
Force in History (New York: Macmillan Company, 1946;
HQ1121.B36) [catalog record], she had created a secondary
source, a history of women. The volume becomes a primary
source when later historians examine it as a pioneering
contribution to the writing of women's history.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awgc1/index.html

12. Drawing of the National Women's Trade Union
League seal, ca. 1908-9. Julia Bracken Wendt.
National Women's Trade Union League
Records (oversize cabinet 2, drawer 1).
Manuscript Division. LC-MS-34363-1.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmss5/trade_reform.html

13. KU Libraries and your research of Women’s History

14. http://www.lib.ku.edu

23. Equal Pay Act of 1963

25. Bibliography at
the end of the
encyclopedia
article:
Find this book?

26. Finding Books

30. Request a book the libraries do not own

31. http://www.lib.ku.edu

35. Submit

36. And, don’t hesitate to email me with any questions you have about using the
services of the Libraries
Lissa Lord
llord@ku.edu

37. How to find e-journals

43. Law Journals are a good source for
finding documents. See all those
citations? Those are the footnotes. Ask
me for help:
Lissa Lord
llord@ku.edu

44. Databases for Research

47. A list of
databases
from the
Subject Listing
on the
Libraries’
Database and
Articles page

50. This database
is a bit tricky
to search but
you can
search within
searches and
I could limit
my search by
“primary”
documents.

51. Another database to try:
Proquest Research Library

62. Google Scholar

66. I’m beginning to search for the
current Equal Pay Act and the
role that Lily Ledbetter played
in its signing by President
Obama

69. Use Wikipedia to find
places to go to next,
cites to other sources.

71. USA.gov
Website:

75. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/01/30/archives-president-obama-signs-lilly-ledbetter-fair-pay-act/

76. Questions?

77. http://www.lib.ku.edu