Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Set-Up Cornell Notes (IN Page 16) Title: Primary vs. Secondary Sources Essential Question: What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?

Primary Source A document or physical object that was created during the time period being studied Can you think of any examples?

Types of Primary Sources Published Documents (autobiographies, government documents, statistics, eye-witness news reports) Unpublished Documents (letters, diaries) Oral traditions/histories Visual Documents and Artifacts (video, audio, things from the past)

Secondary Source Accounts of the past created by people who are not first-hand witnesses of the event. This type of source offers an analysis or restatement of primary sources. Can you think of any examples?

Types of Secondary Sources Textbooks Encyclopedias Articles written about the past Biographies Newspaper reports from someone who was not present during the event

Bias Rule Bias: a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly Every source is bias in some way Every piece of evidence and every source must be read or viewed skeptically and critically The creator’s point of view must be considered Each piece of evidence and source must be cross- checked and compared with related sources and pieces of evidence

6 C’s of Primary Source Analysis Content (what is present in the document?) Citation (when was this created & by whom?) Context (what was happening when it was created?) Connections (how does this relate to what you already know?) Communication (what is the P-O-V? Is it reliable?) Conclusions: (how does it help us understand history?)

Making Inferences An inference is an idea or conclusion that's drawn from evidence and reasoning. An inference is an educated guess.