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.

The APA recommends following the Bluebook uniform system of citation for citing legal materials.

Government Document from a Website

Format:

Department or Agency Name. (Date of publication). Title of document in sentence case italics (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher. URL

Example:

North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs. (2024, June 20). Quarterly meeting minutes. North Carolina Department of Administration. https://www.doa.nc.gov/boards-commissions/commission-indian-affairs

In-text citation (Department or Agency Name, Year):

(North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs, 2024)

Government Document from a Publication

Format:

Department or Agency Name. (Date of publication). Title of document in sentence case. In Title of publication in sentence case italics (Document page numbers). Publisher. URL (if online).

Example: 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, September 6). Dental assistants. In Occupational outlook handbook, U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dental-assistants.htm

In-text citation (Department or Agency Name, Year): 

(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023)

Court Case

Format:

Name v. Name, Volume Source Page (Year of decision). URL

Example: 

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483

In-text citation (Name v. Name in italics, Year of decision):

(Brown v. Board of Education, 1954)

Statute

Format:

Name of the Public Law or Act, Title # Source § Section # (Year). URL

Example:

Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990). https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/senate-bill/933

In-text citation (Name of the Public Law or Act, Year):

(Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 1990)

Note:

• The Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School provides additional guidance on legal citations. You can also look up court cases, U.S. codes, executive orders, state laws, and more.

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.

Format:

Last name, Initial(s) of Interviewee. (Year, Month Date). Title of Oral History/Interview by Interviewer's Initial(s) Last name in italics [format]. Project Title, Project Sponsor, Location of Archive, City. URL

Example:

Griffin, A. (1999, May 7). Oral History Interview with Arthur Griffin by P. Grundy [Audio recording with transcript]. Southern Oral History Program Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. https://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/K-0168/menu.html

In-text citation (Interviewee's last name, Year):

(Griffin, 1999)

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.

According to APA Guidelines, when you include a photograph in your text, you must present it as a figure in addition to citing the source. Check the "Cartoons and Illustrations" tab to see how you should format your figures.

Photograph From a Website

Format:

Last name, Initial(s) of Artist. (Year). Photograph Title in italics [Photograph]. Website Name. URL

Example:

Silver, W. (1986). Factory [Photograph]. New York Public Library Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/51fd9310-ea71-0131-8221-58d385a7bbd0

In-text citation (Artist's last name, Year):

(Silver, 1986)

Photograph From an Article

Format (when the artist is the same as the author):

Last name, Initial(s) of Author/Artist. (Date). Title of journal/newspaper article in sentence case. Title of Journal/Newspaper in Italics, Volume number in italics(Issue number), Page number(s). DOI or URL

Example:

Binder, T. (2012). Bibimbap. Gastronomica, 12(4),104-109. https://doi.org/10.1525/GFC.2012.12.4.104

In-text citation (Author/artist's last name, Year, Page #):

(Binder, 2012, p. 106)

Format (when artist is not the same as the author):

Last name, Initial(s) of Artist. (Date of publication). Photograph title in sentence case italics [Photograph]. In Initial(s) Last name of Author. Title of journal/newspaper article in sentence case. Title of Journal/Newspaper in Italics, Volume number in italics(Issue number), Page number(s). (Original work creation/publication date). DOI or URL

Example:

Bernstein, A. P. (2017, January 21). [Photograph of Women's March]. In K. G. Bates, Race and feminism: Women's March recalls the touchy history, NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/01/21/510859909/race-and-feminism-womens-march-recalls-the-touchy-history

In-text citation (Artist's last name, Year, Page #):

(Bernstein, 2017)

Photograph From a Book

Format (when the artist is the same as the author):

Last name, Initial(s) of Author. (Year). Book title in sentence case italics (Edition number). Publisher. DOI or URL (if applicable)

Example:

Caswell, M. (2014). Archiving the unspeakable: Silence, memory, and the photographic record in Cambodia. University of Wisconsin Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cpcc-ebooks/reader.action?docID=3445385

In-text citation (Author's last name, Year, Page #):

(Caswell, 2014, p. 143)

Format (when artist is not the same as the author):

Last name, Initial(s) of Artist. (Year of publication). Photograph title in sentence case [Photograph]. In Initial(s) Last name of Author, Title of book in sentence case italics (p. page of photograph). Publisher. (Original work creation/publication date). DOI or URL

Example:

Bischof, W. (2020). Magnum Photos office, sixty-fourth street, New York [Photograph]. In N. Bair, The decisive network: Magnum Photos and the postwar image market (p. 31). University of California Press. (Original work 1953). https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e900xww&AN=2382177&site=ehost-live&scope=site

In-text citation (Artist's last name, Year, Page #):

(Bischof, 2020, p. 31)

Note:

• Sometimes, photographs don't have their own titles. Instead, write a brief description of it, capitalizing the first word and any proper nouns. The description should be in square brackets. (e.g. [Photograph of protest taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina])
• When the date of the photograph is approximate, use the abbreviation “ca.” (which stands for “circa”). (e.g. ca. 1950)
• When you cannot determine the date of the photograph, treat the work as having no date and place (n.d.) as the date. 

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: 

Last name, Initial(s) of Video Creator or Name of Organization. (Year, Month Date). Title of video in sentence case italics [Video]. Database Name. URL

Example:

Universal Pictures Company. (1932, March 21). Universal Newsreels, release 25, March 21, 1932 [Video]. Alexander Street. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity|video_work|1789091

In-text citation (Video Creator's last name or Organization name, Year):

(Universal Pictures Company, 1932)

Video From a Website

Format:

Last name, Initial(s) of Video Creator or Name of Organization. (Year, Month Date). Title of video in sentence case italics [Video]. Website Name. URL

Examples:

Naval Photographic Center. (1944, June 6). D-Day: Normandy Invasion [Video]. U.S. National Archives. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2521163

Trescot, D. (2015, April 20). Curious baby manatee [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKtPb4O_I3E

In-text citation (Video Creator's last name or Organization name, Year):

(Naval Photographic Center, 1944)

(Trescot, 2015)

Movie and Film

Format:

Last name, Initial(s) of Director (Director). (Year, Month Date). Title of motion picture in sentence case italics [Film]. Production company.

Example:

Clooney, G. (2014). The monuments men [Film]. 20th Century Studios.

In-text citation (Director's last name, Year):

(Clooney, 2014)

Television Series Episode

Format:

Last name, Initial(s) of Writer (Writer), & Last name, Initial(s) of Director (Director). (Original air date). Title of episode in sentence case (Season number, Episode number) [TV series episode]. In Initial(s) Last name of Executive Producer (Executive Producer), Series title in sentence case italics. Production company(s). 

Example:

Crane, D. (Writer), Kauffman, M. (Writer), Reich, A. (Writer), Cohen, T. (Writer) & Bright, K. S. (Director). (2000, February 10). The one where Chandler can't cry (Season 6, Episode 14) [TV series episode]. In K. S. Bright, A. Chase, D. Crane, M. Kauffman, G. Malins (Executive Producers), Friends. Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions; Warner Brothers Television.

In-text citation (Last name of Writer or Director, Year):

(Crane et al., 2000)

Note:

• When the date of the video is approximate, use the abbreviation “ca.” (which stands for “circa”). (e.g. ca. 1950)