A primary source is a firsthand account of an event created at the time of the event, or a later account created by a participant or witness to the original event. They are essentially raw materials that can later be analyzed, interpreted, compared, contrasted, or synthesized to create a secondary source like an article or book.
| Advertisements | Emails | Photographs |
| Artwork | Interviews/oral histories | Records (business, government, church, etc.) |
| Audio recordings | Letters (correspondence) | Social media posts |
| Blueprints | Maps | Video recordings |
| Diary entries | Newspaper articles |