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Sociology & Anthropology

What's a primary source?

Primary sources are original, uninterpreted information.  Scholars analyze primary sources in order to answer research questions. Examples of primary sources vary by discipline.

Examples in the social sciences:

  • a political, social, or economic theory
  • a dataset
  • the results of an experiment published in a peer-reviewed journal

Archives & Special Collections Hours

The Archives & Special Collections is located on the second floor of the Collins Memorial Library.

Set up an appointment: We are open to researchers by appointment Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. To make an appointment, email archives@pugetsound.edu or book online

We look forward to assisting you!

Primary Sources in Sociology & Anthropology

Selecting an appropriate primary source is dependent on the context of your research. Examples of primary sources include manuscripts, photos, recordings, datasets, or field notes.

These are a few examples of collections of primary resources:
 

  • Digital Himalaya
    A digital collection of census, journal, film, maps, and music related to anthropological research in the Himalayan region.
     
  • Documenting the Southeast Asian American Experience (SEAAdoc)
    SEAAdoc is an educational resource of the Southeast Asian Archive at the UC Irvine Libraries focusing on post-1975 refugees and immigrants from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam and the communities they have developed in the United States.
     
  • Europeana.eu is a digital collection developed from a collaboration between universities, research institutes, and content providers.  It contains over four million digital items.
     
  • EVIA Digital Archive Project
    A collaborative effort to establish a repository of ethnographic video recordings and an infrastructure of tools and systems supporting scholars in the ethnographic disciplines.
     
  • Open Folklore
    Devoted to increasing the number of useful resources, published and unpublished, available in open access form for folklore studies and the communities with which folklorists partner.
     
  • Southeast Asia Digital Library
    The Southeast Asia Digital Library (SEADL) exists to provide educators and their students, as well as scholars and members of the general public, with a wide variety of materials published or otherwise produced in Southeast Asia.