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"Fight the Flu!" 1918 Poster from Nanaimo. BC Archives Accession I-61504 |
A primary source is a first-hand account of an event that is created during the time that event took place; they can also be created retrospectively at a later date by a participant in those events. They are original documents and usually don’t describe or analyze other documents. They can also be creative works.
Examples include:
How are they used?
Thoroughly read the document and take notes. Make note of anything that strikes you as important, odd, and/or exciting.
Ask yourself questions about the document:
Just because a document is considered a primary source does not mean that it is an accurate or truthful account of a particular event. In order to get a sense of what actually happened in the past do the following:
All sources, including primary sources, need to be cited in your work. Here's a guide to citing primary sources: https://libguides.unbc.ca/citing_archives/documents
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