Use sources like a historian.
Build the context first
Secondary sources analyze or interpret the past. Use them to understand the larger economic, social, political, and cultural setting before you begin interpreting primary evidence.
Then examine evidence from the time
Primary sources were created during the historical period being studied. Examples include letters, speeches, diaries, newspapers, photographs, maps, artifacts, eyewitness accounts, and oral histories.
Quality and perspective matter more than source count
NHD encourages wide research across varied source types. The strongest work uses evidence that supports the argument, reflects multiple perspectives, and is interpreted in historical context.
An oral history with someone who directly experienced an event can be a primary source. Interviews with historians or other experts are not required; NHD advises students to read historians’ published work instead.