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*Political Science

Primary Sources in Political Science

 

Primary sources for Political Science consist of raw data that have yet to be analyzed or interpreted. They offer some first-hand information regarding a certain situation or issue, bringing a greater depth to our understanding. Some of the most common format of primary sources for Political Science include:

  • Raw data sets
  • Speeches, interviews, oral histories
  • Measures of public opinion
  • Government documents
  • Memoirs and autobiographies

For more information on finding government documents and information, please refer to our Government Resources Research Guide.

Finding Primary Sources in Other Libraries


Online Archives

News Databases and Sites

Newspaper and magazine articles are a grey area. They can either be primary or secondary resources. If the article is a transcript of an interview, or is an eyewitness account of some sort, then it is a primary source. The key distinction to remember is that primary sources are first-hand accounts of something. They haven't been processed and analyzed by another. If the reporter includes any information from other articles or resources, it will become a secondary source.

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