In research, newspapers can serve as either primary or secondary sources.
Newspaper articles are primary sources when they report basic information about events as they occur, for example through interviews with eye-witnesses to current events. Newspaper articles are secondary sources when they explain or reflect upon events in the past, such as through a one-year anniversary article commemorating a major event. Personal or collective opinions (most often appearing in editorials, editorial cartoons, Op-Ed pieces, or letters to the editor) straddle the line between primary and secondary sources: they are secondary sources in terms of being at arm’s length from the facts of the events they analyze or discuss, but primary sources in terms of providing a first-hand account of contemporary opinion about those events.
Other parts of the newspaper that can be used in research include advertisements, photographs, obituaries, sports pages, “women’s pages,” and comics, all of which reflect the language and style of their time and can be helpful in providing facts or perspectives about local people, commodity prices, community events, cultural trends, and more. From the 18th to the 20th centuries, newspapers and periodicals were a principal information source for literate people, playing a crucial role in local, national, and international community life. This role was only somewhat diminished in the mid-to-late 20th century by the advent of radio and television, but was significantly reduced in the early 21st century as internet-based technologies transformed the media landscape.
For more information on the differences between primary and secondary sources, check out our Primary versus Secondary Sources Research Guide.
Digital copies of newspapers available in databases can be searched by title, keyword, date, or author, allowing for multiple ways to find and explore what you are researching.
Newspapers are often most useful when consulting multiple papers or multiple issues over a certain time period to gain greater context around an event.
Newspaper articles are primary sources when they report basic information about events as they occur, for example through interviews with eye-witnesses to current events. Newspaper articles are secondary sources when they explain or reflect upon events in the past, such as through a one-year anniversary article commemorating a major event. Personal or collective opinions (most often appearing in editorials, editorial cartoons, Op-Ed pieces, or letters to the editor) straddle the line between primary and secondary sources: they are secondary sources in terms of being at arm’s length from the facts of the events they analyze or discuss, but primary sources in terms of providing a first-hand account of contemporary opinion about those events.
Other parts of the newspaper that can be used in research include advertisements, photographs, obituaries, sports pages, “women’s pages,” and comics, all of which reflect the language and style of their time and can be helpful in providing facts or perspectives about local people, commodity prices, community events, cultural trends, and more. From the 18th to the 20th centuries, newspapers and periodicals were a principal information source for literate people, playing a crucial role in local, national, and international community life. This role was only somewhat diminished in the mid-to-late 20th century by the advent of radio and television, but was significantly reduced in the early 21st century as internet-based technologies transformed the media landscape.
For more information on the differences between primary and secondary sources, check out our Primary versus Secondary Sources Research Guide.
Digital copies of newspapers available in databases can be searched by title, keyword, date, or author, allowing for multiple ways to find and explore what you are researching.
Newspapers are often most useful when consulting multiple papers or multiple issues over a certain time period to gain greater context around an event.
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