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The Hulbert Taft, Jr. Library

US History: Exploring Demographic Groups in WWII America: Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Sources created by those who lived it

Any document, image, or artifact created at the time of the topic being researched is a primary source.

Examples include: eyewitness accounts, autobiographies and memoirs, diaries, letters, speeches, reports, newspapers, household and day-to-day objects, clothing, works of art, architecture, and photographs.

Please note: primary source documents are a reflection of the time and culture in which they were created and may contain language or images that are considered offensive today.

 

Tips for Citing Primary Sources in NoodleTools

 

FIND PRIMARY SOURCES IN

HISTORICAL NEWS DATABASES

  • Always limit your search to the date range relevant to your topic.
  • Try searching terms, phrases, etc. that were commonly used at the time in relation to your topic. For example: Great War instead of World War I.
  • Look for document-type limiters that may improve your results, such as article, commentary, editorial, front page / cover story, letter to the editor, etc.
Resource Allows NoodleTools Export  Citations can be exported from this source to NoodleTools.

 
These History databases also contain primary sources.
 

FIND PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIAL IN  

BOOKS /eBOOKS AND REFERENCE BOOKS / eBOOKS

USING RHINOCAT

 

Find PRIMARY SOURCES by or about a person relevant to your topic in RhinoCat.
  • Do an Author search using the name of a person relevant to your topic to find books, letters, diaries, memoirs, autobiographies written by that person.
  • Do a Keyword search using the name of a person to identify writings, interviews, and speeches in anthologies and collections.
  • Keywords you can combine with your topic or person's name include speeches, diaries, interviews, and correspondence. For example:
    • Progressive era speeches  
    • Theodore Roosevelt correspondence
 
Find PRIMARY SOURCES on your topic in RhinoCat using Advanced Search.
  • Click here to open the Advanced Search page.
  • In the first Keyword search line, replace xxxxx with your search term.
  • In the next Keyword search line, change Keyword to Subject and paste in (sources OR diaries OR narratives)

 

VISIT

The National World War II Museum Digital Collections

 

Search for your demographic group to discover photos and interviews with veterans and others.

Primary Source Videos

Find Primary Sources on the Internet

To find Primary Sources on the Internet using Google

 

Copy and paste the phrase Documents OR "primary sources" AND your topic keyword(s) into Google. 
For example: 

If you have any questions, see
Mr. Padgett, Ms. Taylor, or Mr. Previti
OR email us at 
spadgett@taftschool.org  
  taylorp@taftschool.org
rpreviti@taftschool.org
We're here to help!

Scan pages from books and other print sources 

including title page and back side of title page
and email the PDF to your Taft email
with

GENIUS SCAN

Genius Scan Enterprise - Apps on Google Play

Get it from the App Store
PLEASE NOTE: Do not copy and paste complete citations from electronic sources. NoodleTools cannot generate footnotes from copied and pasted citations.

 

To cite a Primary Source, first choose the NoodleTools option that best describes where you found it:

  • Database = an electronic source found in a Taft Subscription Database such as Gale eBooks.
    • You can export citations from many of our databases. Look for Resource Allows NoodleTools Export  next to the database name.
    • If you find a document in a Taft Subscription Database that doesn't have the export feature, you will create an original citation.
    • You must provide the permanent URL for your source. Look for any of the following on the page: permalink, persistent link, stable link, durable link, "Get link", Cite, Citable Link. 

  • Website = a document found on the Websites page of the course guide or a search engine such as Google or Sweetsearch. 

  • Print or In Hand = a document found in a book in the library. For example: in a reference book or a secondary source book.

Next, determine what kind of primary source you are citing:

  • Look at the list of options in NoodleTools. Is it a newspaper article, a speech, a letter, or another item listed? If so, choose that item type.
  • If you are not sure, Anthology / Collection enables you to cite a source found within another source. For a document found on a website, Web Page works well in many cases.
You can also see (or email) Mr. Padgett, Ms. Taylor, or Mr. Previti and we'll help you figure it out.