A vast array of primary source material is available via the Library, online and in local archives.
The following primary source collections can be accessed online. Some are freely accessible to all whilst others are only available to University of Bristol students and staff.
Available to students and staff at the University of Bristol.
Access to millions of pages of primary source content from AM. Use the search bar to begin exploring, or browse individual primary source collections.
Archives Unbound provides access to rare primary source documents topically focused into digital collections covering US foreign policy, civil rights, global affairs, colonial studies, British history, Holocaust studies, LGBT studies, Latin America and Caribbean studies, Middle East studies, political science, religious studies, and women’s studies. Includes over 340 collections.
Platform allowing cross searching of primary source database provided by Gale, covering newspapers, historic journals and other material.
Explore the growth of the human rights movement during the second half of the twentieth century through the International Secretariat records of Amnesty International. The material within this collection is vital for studying the history of key political events, global social change and the development of a global movement for human rights covering themes including state violence, political prisoners, minority rights and more.
Publications and archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House)
Over 180,000 titles published during the 18th Century, including critical information in history, literature, religion, law, fine arts, and science.
Security Issues Online delves into conflicts, policies, and relationships that have impacted the global arena throughout modern history. At completion, this collection will include at completion 175 hours of video and 100,000 pages of printed materials (personal papers, organizations, government documents, journals, reports, monographs, and speeches).
Resources which are freely available to anyone online.
Available to students and staff at the University of Bristol.
A collection of historical US newspaper archives with a focus on Black history
ProQuest Leftist Newspapers and periodicals is a collection of English-language publications spanning beyond the 20th century (1845-2015) covering Communist, Socialist and Marxist thought, theory and practice. Issues covered include workers’ rights, organized labor, labor strikes, Nazi atrocities, McCarthyism’s rise after WWII, Civil Rights, and modern-day class struggles which give rise to renewed interest in alternative social organizations. This collection includes 145 titles with over 150,000 digitized pages.
An archival collection comprising the backfiles of 15 major magazines (including the Newsweek archive), spanning areas including current events, international relations, and public policy. These titles offer multiple perspectives on the contemporary contexts of the major events, trends, and interests in these fields throughout the twentieth century. Coverage: 1918 - 2015
This digital resource reveals the story of war as told by the newspapers that brought information, entertainment and camaraderie to the forces at home and overseas. Includes over 300 titles from key nations across the globe that took part in the world-changing conflict.
Resources which are freely available to anyone online.
Available to students and staff at the University of Bristol.
Holdings of the Arcadian Library, revealing the shared cultural heritage of Europe and the Middle East.
Resources which are freely available to anyone online.
Available to students and staff at the University of Bristol.
This database provides a robust and significant collection of primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender.
Let us know what you think about this resource by emailing subject-librarians@bristol.ac.uk
Essential primary sources documenting the changing representations and lived experiences of gender roles and relations from the nineteenth century to the present. This expansive collection offers sources for the study of women's suffrage, the feminist movement, the men’s movement, employment, education, the body, the family, and government and politics.
Archival runs of 26 of the most influential, longest-running serial publications covering LGBT interests. Includes the pre-eminent US and UK titles – The Advocate and Gay Times, respectively. Chronicles more than six decades of the history and culture of the LGBT community. In addition to LGBT/gender/sexuality studies, this material also serves related disciplines such as sociology, political science, psychology, health, and the arts. Some publications may contain explicit content. Coverage: 1954 - 2015.
Archival runs of many of the most influential, longest-running serial publications covering LGBT interests. Includes the pre-eminent US and UK titles – The Advocate and Gay Times, respectively. Chronicles more than six decades of the history and culture of the LGBT community. In addition to LGBT/gender/sexuality studies, this material also serves related disciplines such as sociology, political science, psychology, health, and the arts. Some publications may contain explicit content.
LGBT Thought and Culture is an online resource hosting books, periodicals, and archival materials documenting LGBT political, social and cultural movements throughout the twentieth century and into the present day.
A collection of men’s-interest magazine backfiles serving research in men’s studies/history but also offering important additional perspectives for women’s studies. It includes some of the earliest publications of this type – National Police Gazette and Argosy – and covers key topics such as fashion, sports, health, and arts/entertainment.
Coverage: 1845 - 2015
Sex & Sexuality provides access to a wealth of essential primary sources collated by prominent sex researchers and sexologists, community activists, official organizations, social reformers, and individuals. This resource aims to provide an insight into the wide-ranging breadth and experience of human sexuality from all angles, for example scientific, historical attitudes, sexuality, and sexual behaviours. Note: this resource contains some graphic and potentially distressing material.
Women and Social Movements, International is a collection of primary materials. Through the writings of women activists, their personal letters and diaries, and the proceedings of conferences at which pivotal decisions were made, this collection lets you see how women’s social movements shaped much of the events and attitudes that have defined modern life.
Women and Social Movements in Modern Empires since 1820 explores prominent themes in world history since 1820: conquest, colonization, settlement, resistance, and post-coloniality, as told through women’s voices. With a clear focus on bringing the voices of the colonized to the forefront, this highly-curated archive and database includes documents related to the Habsburg Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the British, French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and United States Empires, and settler societies in the United States, New Zealand and Australia.
This collection looks at women’s global economic participation and activism over an entire century. This database sets out to reveal and assess a realm of individual efforts, organizational initiatives and socio-cultural projects led by women in the global south.
An archival research resource comprising the backfiles of leading women's interest consumer magazines. Coverage ranges from the late-19th century through to 2005 and these key primary sources permit the examination of the events, trends, and attitudes of this period.
The University's Special Collections encompass a wide range of material from different time periods and on numerous subjects.
Some material can be viewed online and you can consult physical items by appointment in the Special Collections Reading Room on the first floor of the Arts and Social Sciences Library.
Research Skills Foundations introduces humanities and social-science students to the key approaches and methodologies of working with primary source material. Designed to be used in the classroom or for independent study, this module of AM Research Skills will empower students to engage with primary sources and assess historical evidence with confidence.
The University of Bristol's Special Collections contain a vast and diverse range of materials dating from the 11th century to the present day.
Shows how to identify, find, and evaluate both primary and secondary sources for your own writing assignments.
Guidance on how to successfully select and use sources - primary, secondary, and electronic - to carry out and present your research.
Practical guide covering the various stages of a history research project, from the selection of the topic and the organization and interpretation of source material, through to the completion of the written-up record.
A self-help tutorial on effective research with databases.
This guide to finding primary sources will show you where and how to find primary sources online and in print.
Our Introduction to finding and using archives in the UK guide provides further information about using UK archives for your research.