The goal of this assignment is for you to have the experience of being the investigator and seek connections between primary sources, instead of reading other people's interpretations. Choose a topic or resource format that Interest YOU!
"A primary source is a document that was created at the time of the event or subject
you've chosen to study, or by people who were observers of, or participants in that event or topic."
- E.H. Brown - Writing about History, UofT Writing Advice
Read through the assignment prompt provided by your instructor in Quercus and remember these key requirements and contact your TA or librarian for help. Your proposal must feature 3 primary source materials and the final assignment requires 5 primary source materials (minimum).
Your primary source materials must be created during the time period that you are examining.
Primary source materials often come in the format of digital copies of printed and writen documents, photographs and artworks, or audiovisual materials. When you submit a keyword search, databases reads the details in the item record (e.g., title, author, format) but it also reads the text displayed on the scanned pages. It's important to use the language that is relevant to that time period and location, but also select language that would be used for different types of audiences.
For example, a contract disputes with a studio would be described in different ways if searching within fan magazines, newspapers, trade / industry magazines, or court transcripts.
Enter search terms on separate lines e.g., enter title of film on the top line, director's last name below, so as to articulate your search request.
"The Wizard of Oz" AND Fleming
Use Boolean Operators to improve your search:
Explore the Research Tips By Databases (see left-side navigation menu) and explore which databases use Boolean Operators and Modifiers to craft more precise searches.
Remember that searching historical scans of publications you need to use the language that would be most appropriate for that time period.
"A primary source is a document that was created at the time of the event or subject you've chosen to study, or by people who were observers of, or participants in that event or topic." - E.H. Brown - Writing about History, UofT Writing Advice
The goal of this assignment is for you to have the experience of being the investigator and seek connections between primary sources, instead of reading other people's interpretations. If you need help or want to just brainstorm, definitely reach out to the librarian.
The primary source resources need to meet the following criteria
The materials were created during (or close to the time) you are examining. Pick the most relevant time period (e.g., specific date, phenomena or a range of time)).
You must be able to access primary sources tied to your topic in some form (e.g., digitally, physically, or as reproduction). Use the CIN201 guide to explore collections for inspiration based on TOPICS or PHYSICAL FORMATS.(e.g., articles, photographs, audio or moving images, film reviews, personal or business documents)
How do the primary source resources connections to your topic? Can they support or disprove your analysis and arguments?
On this page, find primary source collections organized by categories:
Be sure to limit the date range to locate materials created in the time period you are examining that falls between 1895-1960.
See navigation menu on left for more search tips:
To find primary sources, remember you need to restrict your search results to materials published close to the time of your film or event. If they are published later, they are secondary sources.
Business Documents
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Production and Marketing Materials
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Professional Association Documents
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Personal Documents
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Government & Legal Documents
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Content in Newspapers & Magazines
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Secondary Sources are documents and creative works (images, film, audio) that analyse primary source materials and provide context on the circumstances that surround them.
REMEMBER: The purpose of this assignment is to apply your own analysis and commentary on the topic or event so it is crucial to avoid the insights made by authors if you decide to use secondary sources.
Instead, use secondary sources to
For example, if you are interested in examining a film director or film, secondary sources could contain reproductions documents or objects, like marketing materials or excerpts from personal letters.
To find primary sources, remember to restrict publication date for your search results so you explore materials created or published close to the time of your film or event.
If the materials are published or created later than the time period being studied, they are secondary sources because they provide analysis of that subject or event and may have access to information and context that was not available at the time.
Carefully review your assignment instructions (available in Quercus) and contact your TAs, instructor, or the Cinema Studies Librarian with questions about identifying a research topic and finding primary source materials.
For this class, you are expected to use Chicago or MLA Citation Style. Check the CIN201 Quercus for the modules on Writing & Citing with Primary Sources (You & Your Sources).
Be sure that you know what information needed to cite the types of resource
