World War 1: Research Tips

Primary source materials are documents or physical objects which were written or created during the time under study.

When you use the Library catalogue, you will see that books containing primary source material with a subject heading that includes the word "sources". For example:

• World War, 1914-1918  Sources   

To find primary sources, try a Keyword search. Type your search term and link it together with the word "sources" ( eg.: Gallipoli sources).

Use the following Subject Headings on the library catalogue to search for resources about WW1

Start with a narrow search (this will depend on your topic) for example :

World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1914-1918 Australia
World War, 1914-1918 Australia Sources
World War, 1914-1918 Campaigns and battles
ANZAC
Gallipoli Campaign, 1915-1916
Trench warfare

Australia History  20th century
Australia History 1901-1918
History, Modern  20th century
Europe History 1914-1945
Germany History 1866-1918
Great Britain History 1901-1918

Encyclopedias and other reference sources provide an overview of topics and as such are a useful starting point for World War 1 research.

Check out the World Book Encyclopedia and the Britannica by looking for the letter your subject begins with on the spine of the encyclopedias. Or use the indexes to find your subject and the volume references to it.