Primary sources are first-hand accounts of a topic. They can include letters, social media posts, newspapers, diaries, recordings, witness accounts, legal documents, speeches and much more. In this guide, we list print and digital primary sources for social research. Some are available to you as a member of the University of Cambridge and some are openly available.
Searchable, full-text database, with digitized page images, of American magazines and journals that originated between 1741, when Andrew Bradford's American Magazine and Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine were launched, and 1900. The bulk of the collection dates from the 19th-century; periodicals that began publication before 1900 and continued into the 20th century are included through 1940. Based on the American Periodical Series (APS I, II, and III) microfilm collections.
India Office Records from the British Library, London. Containing royal charters, correspondence, trading diaries, minutes of council meetings and reports of expeditions, among other document types, this resource charts the history of British trade and rule in the Indian subcontinent and beyond from 1599 to 1947.
Ethnographic Sound Archives Online brings together previously unpublished historic audio recordings and their supporting field materials, opening new paths for the study of music in its cultural context. The collection brings together 2,000 hours of audio recordings from field expeditions around the world, particularly from the 1960s through the 1980s—the dawn of ethnomusicology as a codified discipline
The Gender Studies Collection is a collection of 242 print publications, mostly pamphlets, dating from the late 1960s to the 1980s. The collection includes keystone publications on LGBT issues, the liberation of men and women, advice on motherhood, abortion, childcare, race and employment.
Featured collections of primary source documents cover British colonial administrations that reigned during the 19th and 20th centuries, and include content on 13 colonies, from Ghana and Togo to Kenya and Nigeria.
An essential resource for late-twentieth and early twenty-first-century British social history, consists of all the directives (questionnaires) sent out by Mass Observation and the responses to them from the hundreds of Mass Observers
Researchers will find a wealth of unique content from the Middle East and North Africa, much of which has never been digitized or available as open access material. Content in the Middle Eastern and North African Newspapers collection is predominantly in Arabic, but also includes key titles in English and French. The collection comprises mostly out-of-copyright, orphaned content. CRL members and subscribing institutions also receive access to five in-copyright titles from the region: al-Akhbār (الاخبار, Lebanon, 2006-2019), al-Dustūr (الدستور, Jordan, 1967-2000), al-Jumhūrīyah (الجمهورية, Egypt, 1962-1986), al-Riyāḍ (الرياض, Saudi Arabia, 1972-1996), and Filasṭīn (فلسطين, Israel/Palestine, 1956-1967).
Orlando is a comprehensive electronic database relating to women's writing in the British Isles. It offers a wealth of biographical and critical information on more than 1000 writers, together with entries on literary and historical events.
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is the world's longest-established scholarly association dedicated to the furtherance of anthropology (the study of humankind) in its broadest and most inclusive sense.
Archives Hub provides a gateway to thousands of the UK’s richest archives. Representing over 220 institutions across the country, the Archives Hub is an effective way to discover unique and often little-known sources to support your research.
Provides a single access to find, browse and discover information on archives about Europe held by thousands of cultural heritage institutions from more than 30 countries
Use ArchiveSearch to search for archives and primary sources held in Cambridge -- including at the University, colleges, faculties and museums -- and to find out how you can access them. Find links to online digital resources and to help you plan a research visit to use archive materials.
Particular strengths in the Archive Unbound catalog include U.S. foreign policy; U.S. civil rights; global affairs and colonial studies; and modern history. Broad topic clusters include: African American studies; American Indian studies; Asian studies; British history; Holocaust studies; LGBT studies; Latin American and Caribbean studies; Middle East studies; political science; religious studies; and women’s studies. The Archives Unbound program consists of more than 290,000 documents.
Discovery holds more than 32 million descriptions of records held by The National Archives and more than 2,500 archives across the country. Over 9 million records are available for download.
British Online Archives is one of the United Kingdom’s leading academic publishers. Its goal is to provide students and researchers in the humanities and social sciences with access to unique collections of primary source documents. Its website hosts over 4 million records drawn from both private and public archives. These records are organised thematically, covering 1,000 years of world history, from politics and warfare to slavery and medicine.
Alternative link:
https://idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk/permalink/f/t9gok8/44CAM_ALMA61529883350003606
Factiva is a database of over 8,000 business and news publications, most in full text. Sources are in 22 languages, date back as far as 1969, and include trade journals, newswires (Dow Jones, Reuters, and others), media programs, and company and stock reports. Find information on over 22,000 public and private companies including description, history, current stock quote, financial data, competitors, and the latest news on business activities. Search publications by title, industry, geographic locations, type, and language.
Gale Primary Sources allows users to search across seven primary source archives from the publisher Gale including Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Archives Unbound (specialising in social movements), British Library Newspapers, Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive, and many other newspaper and official documents archives.
The IHR steers researchers to freely accessible online research resources. On this site, you will find lists of links to these resources, organised by publication type, chronology and theme. At the start you will also find helpful advice from the IHR Library team on how to make the most of this resource. So far over 750 resources have been listed
The Gender Studies Collection is a collection of 242 print publications, mostly pamphlets, dating from the late 1960s to the 1980s. The collection includes keystone publications on LGBT issues, the liberation of men and women, advice on motherhood, abortion, childcare, race and employment.