Primary sources are materials created at the time of the topic you are researching, or by an eyewitness to the topic. Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during a historical event or time period. They are not a commentary about your topic but are first hand accounts of people who have experienced the topic you are commenting about.
Primary sources may include:
"Primary sources" can sometimes be confused with "primary research" which refers to studies that do original research and report the data and findings for the first time.
When you're searching the library catalog, combine keywords about your topic (specific people, specific events, or keywords about your topic) with the name of the type of the primary source you're hoping to find (ex. diary, diaries, letters, correspondence, memoir, autobiography, etc.)
Secondary sources discuss, interpret, analyze or in some way comment upon primary sources. In these sources, the author has taken information and presented it in a certain way or used it to make an argument.
Secondary sources can include:
The databases below are a good place to start your research for Health and Human Performance. Most of the databases have a medical or nursing focus and contain mainly scholarly articles.
Depending on your assignment requirements, news and magazine sources may be an appropriate type of source. Use the databases below to locate news articles and magazines.
Depending on your topic, some nursing or psychology databases may also be helpful