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Primary Sources

When doing political research, primary sources are those materials that were produced by people or organizations active in events, that is, people who act as spokespersons for parties or other groups, first hand accounts produced by participants in events (such as politicians), direct witnesses of events, or accounts gathered from interviews of witnesses and participants by others, like reporters.

Primary sources may come in many different forms, such as:

• diaries or personal journals

• government publications (debates, hearings, etc.)

• ledgers and business records

• letters

• magazine or journal articles

• maps

• newspaper articles

• photographs

• pictures

• tape recordings (oral histories or speeches, for example)

Here are some examples of primary sources:.