Primary Sources Guide

Government documents and legal works come from different levels of government (federal, state, city, etc.), government agencies (United Sates Department of Justice, Mecklenburg County's Board of Elections, etc.), and other institutions. They can be found on government websites as well as archival collections and databases.

In general, government documents will have some or most of this information within the citation in the following order:

• Core Elements
  • Name of Department or Agency. 
  • Title of Document (Use quotation marks if it's part of a publication. Italicize court cases. Do not italicize or use quotes for laws, acts, and other political documents, such as the Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, etc.).
     
• First Container
  • Title of Publication (Italicized),
  • Volume (vol. 35),
  • Publisher (omit if the publisher and the title of the publication are the same),
  • Publication Date (Day Month Year),
  • Page Number or Range (pp. 5).
     
• Second Container
  • Title of Database or Website Name (in italics),
  • Publisher (omit if the publisher and the title of the database or website are the same),
  • Permalink or URL.

Examples:

Supreme Court of the United States. Brown v. Board of Education. 17 May 1954. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Dental Assistants." Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Department of Labor, 2023 Sep. 6. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dental-assistants.htm.

United States Congress. Improving Broadband Access for Veterans Act of 2016. Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/6394/text. 114th Congress, 2nd session, House Resolution 6394, passed 6 Dec. 2016.

In-Text Citations:

(Supreme Court)

(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

(United States Congress)

Note:

• According to the MLA Handbook, if you're using very few government sources in your research projects, treat them just like any other source written by an organization: record the name as presented by the source. Example: U.S. Department of Labor.
• If you're unable to locate the date of publication, you can also use the date of revision or upload. For example, last modified or last updated.
• At the end of entries for legislative documents, you may want to provide the number and session of Congress, the chamber (Senate or House of Representatives), and the type and number of the publication. Types of congressional publications include bills, resolutions, reports, and documents. (See the United States Congress example above.)

Oral histories and interviews capture firsthand memories and accounts of a people's lives, event, places, etc. It's a conversation that takes place between the person telling a story and an interviewer. This conversation is often recorded in audio, but it can also be recorded in video format or included in an article.

An oral history or interview will have some or most of this information within the citation in the following order:

• Core Elements
  • Interviewee's Name (Last, First).
  • Title of Oral History/Interview (Place title in quotation marks if it is part of a publication, or in italics if it is published independently. Omit if there is no known title).
     
• First Container
  • Title of Newspaper, Magazine, or Collection, if it applies (Italicized),
  • Contributor/Name of Interviewer (conducted by Interviewer's Full name),
  • Date of Interview (Day Month Year),
  • Page Number or Range (pp. 5).
     
• Second Container
  • Title of Database or Website Name (Italicized),
  • Permalink or URL.

Example:

Griffin, Arthur. "Oral History Interview with Arthur Griffin." Oral Histories of the American South, conducted by Pamela Grundy, 7 May 1999. Documenting the American South, https://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/K-0168/menu.html.

In-Text Citation:

(Griffin)

Photographs are common primary sources because they present a visual record of a moment in time. They can be used to enhance our understanding of events, people, places, and much more.

A photograph will have some or most of this information within the citation in the following order:

• Core Elements
  • Author/Artist (Last, First).
  • Title of Photograph (Italicized. If the photograph doesn't have a title, provide a brief description without italics or quotes. Example: Photograph of).
     
• First Container
  • Title of Article or Book, if it applies (Use quotation marks for articles, and italics for books),
  • Contributor/Author of the Article or Book (by Author's Full Name, or edited by Editor's Full Name),
  • Publication Date (Day Month Year),
  • Page Number or Range (pp. 5).
     
• Second Container
  • Title of Database or Website Name (Italicized),
  • Permalink or URL.

Examples:

Bernstein, Aaron. Photograph of Women's March. "Race and Feminism: Women's March Recalls the Touchy History," by Karen Grigsby Bates, 21 Jan. 2017. NPR, https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/01/21/510859909/race-and-feminism-womens-march-recalls-the-touchy-history.

Silver, Walter. Factory. 1986. New York Public Library Digital Collections, https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/51fd9310-ea71-0131-8221-58d385a7bbd0.

In-Text Citations:

(Bernstein)

(Silver)

Note:

• If your source or the archive, museum, or other institution holding the source gives an approximate date (e.g. ca. 1968-1969 or early 19th century), record the date as given, but spell out words (like nineteenth century and circa).
• If your source or the institution holding it indicates the date is uncertain (e.g. probably 1901, possibly 1923, 1899?), list the date followed by a question mark.

Films and moving images are helpful for studying not only the technology of a time, but also the prevailing social attitudes.

There are different ways to cite a video sources. Pick the one that best suits your source. 

Video from a Library Database

Format: 

Title of Video in italics. Contributor(s), Publisher/Production Company, Date. Title of Library Database in italics, URL of video. 

Example:

Universal Newsreels, Release 25, March 21, 1932. Universal Pictures Company, 1932. Alexander Street, https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity|video_work|1789091.

In-text citation (Title of video, shorten if necessary):

(Universal Newsreels)

Video from a Website

Format:

Last Name, First Name of Video Creator or Name of Organization. "Title of Video in quotes." Title of the Hosting Website in italics, uploaded by Username (if applicable), Day Month Year of Publication, URL of video.

Examples:

Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, Naval Photographic Center. "D-Day: Normandy Invasion." U.S. National Archives, 6 June 1944, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2521163.

Cummings, J. "Curious Baby Manatee." Youtube, uploaded by J Cummings, 25 Mar. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKtPb4O_I3E.

In-text citation (Author's last name or Organization name):

(Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, Naval Photographic Center)

(Cummings)

Movie and Film

Format:

Title of Movie in italics. Contributor(s), Publisher/Production Company, Year of Release. Name of Streaming Service in italics (if applicable).

Example:

The Monuments Men. Directed by George Clooney, 20th Century Studios, 2014.

In-text citation (Title of movie, shorten if necessary):

(The Monuments Men)

Television Series Episode

Format:

"Title of Episode in quotes." Title of TV Series in italics, Contributor(s), season #, episode #, Production Company, Year of Release. Name of Streaming Service in italics (if applicable). 

Example:

"The One Where Chandler Can't Cry." Friends, created by Marta Kauffman, performance by Matthew Perry, season 6, episode 14, Warner Brothers, 2004. HBO Max.

In-text citation (Title of episode, shorten if necessary):

("The One Where Chandler Can't Cry")

Note:

• If your source or the archive, museum, or other institution holding the source gives an approximate date (e.g. 1958-1960 or early 19th century), record the date as given, but spell out words (like nineteenth century).
• If your source or the institution holding it indicates the date is uncertain (e.g. probably 1901, possibly 1923, 1910?), list the date followed by a question mark.