The basic steps for digital and analog archival research are essentially the same. The main thing to remember is that the digital facsimiles you discover may represent just a fraction of the existing material...

• Once you have formulated a research question, read widely on your topic, and done some background research, you'll likely have a good sense of the people, organizations, places, events, dates, and key themes that are important to your topic. 
•  Use those keywords and subject terms when you search digital portals, search engines, library websites, and databases to find digitized primary sources. Be sure to visit the websites of repositories holding items of interest to discover other materials that may be of interest. 
• You can approach your search from a number of angles. These include library databases; big online portals; library websites; subject, format, and regional collaborations; government archives; archival search tools; and web searches. 
• It can be helpful to approach research with an open mind, to be flexible with search terms, and to think creatively about where you might find sources. Try different approaches and avenues for the most comprehensive results.

Oral Histories are...

"[A] field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st-century digital technologies" (Oral History Association).

Finding Oral Histories

• ArchiveGrid
  • To Find Digital Content: Narrow search results to those that have links to digital content by adding " has_links:1" to your search.
• Archives of American Art Oral Histories (Smithsonian)
• Library of Congress Oral Histories
• Oral History Centers & Collections (from the Oral History Association)
• Sound Collections Database
  • A database supported by the Radio Preservation Task Force, National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress (RPTF) and Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC). Browse or search records describing sound collections in repositories around the country. Genres: radio programs, music, radio news, oral histories, interviews, drama, and more.

Selected LGBTQ Oral History Collections Online...

• Act Up Oral History Project
• LGBTQ Digital Collaboratory: Oral History Hub 
• Stanford Pride Oral History Project

• Archive Grid

  Searchable database containing over 7 million descriptions of archival collections in 1,400 libraries, museums, historical societies and manuscript repositories around the world. Useful for identifying archival repositories by location. 90% of the records in ArchiveGrid are from WorldCat. Select the SUMMARY view to see which repositories hold collections. To limit search results to descriptions that link to digital content, add "has_links:1" (without the quotes) to your search. Note that some results may include links to electronic finding aids instead of or in addition to links to digitized content.

• Google

  Put your subject's name in quotes and add archival keywords to find collections. For example, try a search like this: "A. Philip Randolph" AND (papers OR manuscripts OR archives OR collection) AND (digital or digitized). Google can be helpful for finding collections in libraries, archives, historical societies and other institutions that may not turn up in searches of databases like WorldCat and ArchiveGrid.

• SNAC (Social Networks and Archival Context)

  "[A] free, online resource that helps users discover biographical and historical information about persons, families, and organizations that created or are documented in historical resources (primary source documents) and their connections to one another. Users can locate archival collections and related resources held at cultural heritage institutions around the world."

1. When was the source created?

1. If it is not dated, are there clues that allow for an educated guess?

2. Who created it?

1. Does it reflect the perspective of an individual, group, or an institution? Explain your answer.

3. Who is the intended audience?

1. Which, if any, rhetorical strategies are being used to persuade potential readers/viewers?

4. How has the meaning of the source changed over time? Or not? [Explain why.]

5. What scholarly questions might this source begin to answer?

1. a. How would a researcher use it as a part of a larger project?
2. b. What further information or resources would be necessary to more fully understand the source?

6. In which collection did you discover your source? How did it relate to other materials in the collection?

7. Who created the collection? What can you infer from the description about the creators?

8. How does your knowledge about the collection change your initial impression of the individual source you chose to examine?