When Scholarship becomes a Primary Source
When historians want to study the history of education, research, and knowledge itself, they often turn to the publications and notes of researchers and use them as primary sources.
It can seem counterintuitive to use journal articles and textbooks as primary sources--we usually think about these as secondary sources. However, think, for example, about how a history textbook from the 1920s is evidence of professional thinking and teaching during this time period.
When analyzing scholarly works as primary sources, consider the following:
- What were the accepted ideas and theories of the time?
- How do the text and citations reveal professional relationships?
- How was scholarship funded, and by whom?
- How were scholarly ideas shared, and who had access to them?
Historical Journal Articles & Scientific Books
- Core Historical Literature of AgricultureCornell University collection of agricultural texts published between the early nineteenth century and the middle to late twentieth century. Full-text materials cover agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, animal science, crops and their protection, food science,forestry, human nutrition, rural sociology, and soil science. Scholars have selected the titles in this collection for their historical importance.
Personal Papers
To find the personal papers of a historical researcher, try searching Google Scholar for the researchers name with the additional keyword, "papers". Also use the OCLC FirstSearch (WorldCat) database to search by author to find published works by the researcher.
- Darwin Manuscripts
The Charles Darwin Papers in the Manuscripts Department of Cambridge University Library hold nearly the entire extant collection of Darwin’s working scientific papers. Paramount among these documents are Charles Darwin’s Evolution Manuscripts, which are being published online at the Cambridge Digital Library and simultaneously at the Darwin Manuscripts Project in collaboration with the Darwin Correspondence Project. This is a conceptually coherent set of over 30,000 digitised and edited manuscript pages, spanning 1835-1882. - Newton Papers
Cambridge University Library holds the largest and most important collection of the scientific works of Isaac Newton (1642-1727). They range from his early papers and College notebooks through to the ground-breaking Waste Book and his own annotated copy of the first edition of the Principia. These manuscripts along with those held at Trinity College Cambridge, King’s College Cambridge, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Royal Society and the National Library of Israel have been added to the Unesco Memory of the World Register. As well as University Library material, our collection includes two important items from The Royal Society's collections - a manuscript copy of the Principia and a collection of Newton's correspondence.