• A) Original documents from an historical period, such as newspaper articles, diary entries, or published books, or
• B) Publications, usually articles, that present (for the first time) observations, discoveries, and/or results of original research such as experiments or surveys.

For sources and methods helpful in the first sort of "primary research" (A), consult our primary sources help guide. The latter sort of "primary research" (B) can generally be found in articles in academic journals from all fields. For help with article databases, see our general help guides page.