Research Guides: HWST 603: Review of Hawaiian Literature: Primary + Secondary Sources

Primary + Secondary Sources

What is a primary source?

Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based. They are from the time period involved andhave not been filtered through interpretation or evaluation. They are usually the first formal appearance of results in physical, print or electronic format. They present original thinking, report a discovery, or share new information.

Examples of primary sources:

Literary creations: novels, short stories, poems, etc.
Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, all from the time under study)
Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)
Diaries
Internet communications on email, listservs
Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail)
Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications
Letters
Newspaper articles written at the time
Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial transcript)
Patents
Photographs
Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia
Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report, treaty, constitution, government document)
Speeches
Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls)
Video recordings (e.g. television programs)
Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings, sculptures, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems)
Web site

From Yale University Library

What is a secondary source?

Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources. Generally, they are accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. They are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. Secondary sources are not evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence. However, what some define as a secondary source, others define as a tertiary source. Context is everything.

Examples of secondary sources?

Bibliographies (also considered tertiary);
Biographical works;
Commentaries, criticisms;
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias (also considered tertiary);
Histories;
Literary criticism such as Journal articles;
Magazine and newspaper articles;
Monographs, other than fiction and autobiography;
Textbooks (also considered tertiary);
Web site (also considered primary).

From Yale University Library

Papakilo Database: Nūpepa Collection
Collection of 46 newspapers published in the Hawaiian language from 1834 to 1948 collected and digitized by Awaiaulu and Ho’olaupa’i Hawaiian Newspaper Resource. Partners: Awaiaulu & Ho’olaupa’i.
--AOCs: Various
Hawaiʻi State Archives
The Hawaiʻi State Archives holds the documents and records from the different government entities in Hawaiʻi, beginning with the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi through to the Provisional Government, Republic, Territory, and State.
--AOCs: Various (special emphasis on Kūkulu Aupuni)
Bishop Museum Library & Archives
Library holdings include rare books, periodicals, newspapers, and special collections of published material. Archives holdings are the results of extensive studies done by Museum staff in various disciplines throughout the Pacific, as well as diverse and important collections of manuscripts, photographs, artwork, oral histories, sound recordings, and maps. Digital collections include Hawaiʻi ALIVE, Government and Governance: A Digital Initiative, Maps of Henry E.P. Kekahuna, and Ethnology Database.
--AOCs: Various (special emphasis on Hālau o Laka, Kumu Kahiki)
DAGS Land Survey Map Search
Use the Registered Map Index to identify the Number of the map you would like to search for. Other searches of interest are the Hawaiian Homelands Plat Maps and the Land Court Applications.
--AOCs: Mālama ʻĀina, Kūkulu Aupuni
BOC Official Land Records Search
This website lets anyone search for documents (dating as far back as 1976) recorded by the Bureau of Conveyances (e.g. land titles, deeds, and liens).
--AOCs: Mālama ʻĀina, Kūkulu Aupuni
Ulukau: The Hawaiian Electronic Library
Provides access to primary and secondary source materials related to Hawaiʻi's language, history, people, and culture.
--AOCs: Various
Directory of Historical Records Repositories in Hawai‘i
This directory includes the holdings, locations, contact information and websites of repositories with collections open to the public in Hawaiʻi.

OneSearch Manoa
Web-scale discovery tool for finding millions of articles, books, media and more using a single search. Includes the UH Voyager Catalog plus a huge index of academic journals on most topics. Also includes conference papers, maps, government documents, music scores, DVDs, archives & manuscripts, and more.
Dissertations & Theses @ University of Hawaii
Dissertations and Theses at University of Hawaii provides access to complete full text of University of Hawaii theses and dissertations from 1996 to present. Use Dissertations & Theses for citations, abstracts, and full text of work from other institutions.
NOTE: If you use an ad blocker, you may receive error messages when using certain functions in ProQuest databases. Please whitelist search-proquest-com.eres.library.manoa.hawaii.edu and search.proquest.com to avoid such errors.

Hawaiʻi-Subject Databases via Hamilton
This is a list of (28) databases, accessible to UH Mānoa users, that have a Hawaiʻi-subject focus. Databases listed include Hawaiʻi Sheet Music Index, Hawaiʻi Pacific Journal Index, Hawaiian Legends Index, and more.