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A primary source is a first-hand or contemporary account of an event or topic.

They are the most direct evidence of a time or event because they were created by people or things that were there at the time or event.

These sources have not been modified by interpretation and offer original thought or new information.

Primary sources are clues from the past.

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What are some examples of primary sources?

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What are some examples of primary sources?

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Primary sources can be:

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

Original research

Datasets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics

Photographs, video, or audio that capture an event

Artefacts

Oral histories, memoirs or autobiographies are examples of primary sources created after the event or time in question but offering first-hand accounts

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Many libraries and online websites have primary sources.

In Australia, you can search for primary sources on Trove. It is a database by the National Library of Australia that stores historical documents.

Other libraries you can visit that might have primary sources are state libraries, like the State Library of New South Wales.

You can also find primary sources on many official websites, like government websites.

Some primary sources have been converted into books, like diaries, letters, and autobiographies.

The WSU library may have some primary sources available, especially in their archives.

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Primary sources are valuable to historians because they give insight into the ways in which historical figures understood what they experienced.

They help historians understand the context a person lived in and how significant that moment in time was in history. Primary sources can also give historians an understanding of historical figures’ opinions.

Primary sources created by institutions, such as a census or survey, can help document basic statistics concerning an era.

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Refer to this guide on how to reference your sources for your assessments. It is a good idea to read through the list and try to references sources that you study in class so you can get used to it.