Primary sources are the evidence of history. They are first-hand accounts created by participants or observers of an event or period of time.
There are many kinds of primary sources, including texts (diaries, letters, government reports, newspaper articles, novels, autobiographies), images (paintings, advertisements, posters, photographs), artifacts (memorabilia, clothing, pamphlets, furniture), and audio/visual materials (songs, films, oral histories, interviews).
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The best place to start looking for primary sources is in the bibliography of one of your secondary sources. For example, the secondary source Victorian Reformations: Historical Fiction and Religious Controversy, 1820-1900 (available through Hood College Library as an e-book) includes in its bibliography a source called Mark's Wedding, or Lollardy by Henry Cadwallader Adams, published in 1877:
To search for primary sources, try using keywords to designate primary sources in conjunction with your topic. Some examples:
Use AND to combine these terms with your topic:
You may need to zoom out a bit, since archives may focus on movements, time periods, or locations, rather than a specific person or incident. Sometimes you'll find pages that link you to a relevant archive. Once you're in the archive, you can do a more specific search.
Look for LibGuides: research guides written by librarians. These often provide a list of digital repositories surrounding a given topic.