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WOMS389 Reproductive Health and Justice

Primary Sources

Primary Sources are: 

  • A first-hand account or testimony of the past, written during that present moment

  • Something that describes the reactions or thoughts of a particular time period

Primary Sources are vastly different across a variety of disciplines, but the basic definition of what a primary source is stays the same - a testimony or an account describing reactions or thoughts from a particular time. How these testimonies take shape is what changes across disciplines. 

                                  Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Search Tips 

Finding primary sources is a multi-step process. There is no "one-stop-shop" database that will give you everything you need for your paper. Follow these tips: 

  • Look at the bibliographies and footnotes from articles and books to see what primary sources those scholars are using for evidence
  • Think and research multiple institutions, archives, or repositories that could have information and collections about your project
  • Use historical language 

When searching for primary source collections online, include the following additional phrases with your keywords: 

  • online collections
  • digital collections
  • digitized collections

Be aware that digital collections only show a small portion of what an institution holds! 

What is Grey Literature?

Grey literature is information produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels, and can include reports, policy literature, working papers, newsletters, government documents, speeches, white papers, urban plans, and so on.

This information is often produced by organizations "on the ground" (such as government and inter-governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industry) to store information and report on activities, either for their own use or wider sharing and distribution, and without the delays and restrictions of commercial and academic publishing. For that reason, grey literature can be more current than literature in scholarly journals.

However, because grey literature (usually) does not go through a peer review process, the quality can vary a great deal. Be sure to critically evaluate your source.

For an extensive list of the types of documents that might be considered grey literature, see Document types in grey literature (from GreyNet International).

o search across the websites of governments and organizations, use the resources below.

Another way to find grey literature is to identify organizations that might be publishing this type of information on topics that you're interested in and then to search their websites — paying close attention to website sections with names like "Documents", "Reports", and "Library". Consider government agencies, non-profits, professional associations, research institutes, and other organizations, based on the research you have already done. 

Where to Search for Grey Literature? 

Using Google to search for grey literature

Use Google's site limits to only search a government or institution's site or top-level domain, for instance use site:.gov to limit your search to US government sites. Use site:.org to limit your search to organizations. This technique paired with keywords in Google is a quick way to locate grey literature. Example search: site:.gov contraception

Google Custom Searches

Type your search terms into these pre-built searches to limit results to specific organization types. 

NGO Search
NGO Search is a Google Custom Search that searches across hundreds non-governmental organization (NGO) websites. NGO Search is a project of the International Documents Taskforce (IDTF) and the Government Documents Roundtable (GODORT) of the American Library Association (ALA). This is a spreadsheet of NGOs included in the project. 

IGO Search
International governmental organizations (IGOs) are organizations made up of more than one national government—examples include NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the WHO (World Heath Organization). The governments are the members. IGO Search is a Google Custom Search that searches across IGO websites. It is a project of the International Documents Taskforce (IDTF) and the Government Documents Roundtable (GODORT) of the American Library Association (ALA). Here is the growing spreadsheet of IGO urls included in the search. 

What's a Zine?

Zines are...

  • Self-published, usually in small batches
  • Distributed by their makers (either independently or through zine distributors) by hand, at zine fests, and by mail
  • Labors of love -- made for self-expression, not for profit
  • A medium for expressing ideas & telling stories that aren't represented in the mainstream print (or other) media

 

Finding Current Primary Sources

It can often be challenging to locate current, contemporary primary sources for your research. Below are some types of primary sources and where you might find access to them. Typically, because these sources have been created recently, the best option is to see if you can see find them where they were produced. 

Types of Primary Sources: Where you can find them?
Social media Social media platforms
Interviews, News Articles, Op-Eds News outlets
Documentaries Library databases and search engines
Government reports Government websites

 

We have the following databases that have current documentaries on a variety of topics. You can also search for documentary videos in our catalog, DELCAT. 

Examples of Documentary Websites:

Consider the following questions and points when evaluating current primary sources. 

Author 

  • Who created this source? 
  • What authority do they have on the subject?
  • How do you know, based on your past experiences, that this person or organization has authority?

Publisher/Platform

  • Where was this source published or posted?
  • Does the platform the source was published/posted in/on change perspective of the source?

Purpose

  • Why was this source created? 
  • Who was the intended audience? 
  • Was there a sponsoring organization invested in its creation?

Content

  • What is the main idea of the primary source?
  • What can you observe about the primary source?
  • Has the source been altered in any way from the original?

Context

  • What questions could be answered by using this source?
  • How does this source fit into other scholarly narratives? Does it challenge those narratives?

Limitations

  • What biases or assumptions might have influenced the author or creator?

Connections

  • How does this source fit into my knowledge about this topic?