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UGS 200H: Socially Engaged Art as Research: Finding Primary Sources

Course guide for UGS 200H: Honors Research Seminar Section 017: Socially Engaged Art as Research

What are primary sources?

Primary sources are the direct, uninterpreted records of the subject of your research project. As such, a primary source can be almost anything, depending on the subject and purpose of your research. Be creative in thinking of possible relevant primary sources of information on your topic.

Searching the MSU Libraries Catalog

To find archival and manuscript material held at the MSU Libraries, perform an an "Advanced Keyword" search. In the first box, type your search term(s). In the second box, change "Any Field" to "Subject" and use one of the following:

  • sources This combination usually produces the most results. Example: howard university AND s:sources; police AND s:sources
  • archives Use for organizations, individual persons & families. Example: roosevelt, theodore AND s:archives
  • archival resources Use for topics and geographic areas (countries, cities, etc.) Example: women AND s:archival resources
  • correspondence Use for classes of persons & ethnic groups and individual persons & families) Examples: journalists AND s:correspondence; vietnamese americans AND s:correspondence; garvey, marcus AND s:correspondence
  • diaries Use for individual persons & families. Example: adams, john AND s:diaries
  • manuscripts Example: michigan AND s:manuscripts
  • notebooks, sketchbooks, etc. Example: lin, maya AND s:notebooks, sketchbooks, etc.
  • personal narratives Use for names of events and wars. Example: s: Holocaust AND s: personal narratives
  • personnel records Use for organizations and military units only. dept. of state AND s:personnel records
  • records and correspondence Use for organizations and groups only. Examples: marine corps AND s:records and correspondenc; Lawyers AND s: records and correspondence

Need help? Contact me!

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Terrie Wilson
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Humanities Coordinator and Head, Art Library
Michigan State University
wilso398@msu.edu
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