Modern Latin American History - HIST239 - Primary Sources

Modern Latin American History - Honors

If you are enrolled in the Honors Modern Latin American History, you may need additional resources as you work on your research project.

The resources in the other tabs will still be useful to you, so you should check those out, too!

Getting Started

• Browse the primary sources in this guide to see what is available and develop ideas for a research question.
• Start out by using Research Starter databases or a simple internet search to see what information or topics are out there. You could search by a country of interest, or a topic that you learned about in class.
  • Many Research Starter databases (on the next page) have a browse feature where you can view possible topics without even typing in a search term.
  • Broad starting topics include elections/government, social justice/injustice, organized crime, international relations, economics, environmental issues, Indigenous peoples.
• Browse the primary source resources available on the internet (on the previous page) to see what countries and topics have adequate coverage.

Narrowing your topic

Here are some questions to ask to narrow down the scope of your research:

• What time period is your focus?
• What location are you interested in?
• Is there a sub-set of people you want to focus on?
  • Example: Indigenous people, women

Search techniques

As you develop keywords and narrow down your topic, there are some techniques you can use to help you find the most relevant resource

• "Quotes around phrase" - this searches for your phrase in that exact order instead of as separate words.
  • Example: "Thousand Days' War"
• Truncation: Authorit* = Authoritarianism, Authoritarian, authority, etc. - this searches for any word that begins with that root
• Wild card: wom?n = woman, women - similar to truncation, but it searches for words with any letter in the open spot
• AND - combine your search terms with and to focus your topic
• OR - combine your search terms with or to search for multiple synonyms at the same time (broadening your search)

Combine keywords and use multiple synonyms or truncation/wild cards to create a complex search string:
(suffrage OR vot*) AND wom?n AND "Dominican Republic"

Additional strategies

• Look for specific terminology, people, events, or places that can help you target relevant sources.
  • Example: Cesar Chavez, Bay of Pigs, Panama Canal
• Think of synonyms and related terms - If you can't find what you are looking for, try using a synonym of your term.
• Try searching for the author/creator of the source you already found if you are having trouble finding more
• Some terms were coined after an event or time period ended, so using them will not help you find primary sources from that period!
  • Example: The term Latinx was coined in the early 21st century
  • Trying searching for Latina or Chicana, both of which were in use in the mid-20th century

Keep a look-out for:

• Dates!
  • A source about the Panama Canal written in 2010 is not a primary source, although it could contain primary source material.
  • A secondary source written in 1950 will likely not provide the most up-to-date understanding of a past event.

Using primary sources in research

Locating sources

• What kinds of sources might contain the information you are interested in?
  • Public sources like notices, newspaper articles, cartoons, advertisements, pamphlets
  • Private sources like diaries, journals, letters
  • Governmental or legal sources
• Search online or in the library databases for the name of a particular event, person, or something else specific, rather than a general search for your country or broad topic
• Browse an online collection of primary sources for options relevant to your question (not all websites have good search functions)
  • In Google, you can search site:(site name) and then your search terms to look in a certain website.
  • Example: site:loc.gov "Panama Canal"
• If you are researching a topic that is current, newspaper articles from the present can be primary sources

Analyzing sources

• Whose perspective is it from?
  • People in power? People experiencing injustice?
  • Men? Women?
  • Indigenous people?
• What is the context of this source?
  • What circumstances or events influenced the creator(s)?
  • Why was the source made?
  • Who is the intended audience?
• Is the information/creator(s) reliable and accurate? What is the perspective or bias?

Drawing conclusions

• How did this source shape your understanding of the movement or event?
• How did this source reveal the complexity of the past?
• What evidence of the period or event is left out?
• How has this source supported and informed your conclusion?

Sample primary source