Source enquiry skills: comparing the value of sources Aim: To understand the process of source evaluation and comparison

In the Unit 3 exam you will be asked questions that cover these six skills. This power point covers the main aspects of using sources to compare their value and answer these type of questions. There are also individual power points that cover each type of question with practice questions as well. Inference (What can you learn/work about the topic from the source?) Portrayal (how is the topic/subject/person being portrayed in this source eg. in a positive or negative way) Source analysis (Do you understand the source? Can you use the source as evidence to support an argument? Can you ask questions about the source?) Source evaluation for reliability (Can you make a judgement about the reliability of a source based on questions about its origin, context, purpose etc? Do these things affect its accuracy and reliability?) Source evaluation for utility (usefulness) – (Can you make a judgement about how useful a source is in helping your enquiry through question the origin, purpose, context of source? Remember because a source is biased does NOT make is useless. All sources are useful TO AN EXTENT. Cross referencing of sources (Can you compare sources looking for points of difference and/or similarity to come to a judgement supported by the sources) Using sources and own knowledge to make a judgement (Can you combine your analysis and understanding of sources with your own knowledge to answer the question)

Primary sources Are made at the time e.g. Because they were made at the time does not necessarily make them ‘better’ than secondary sources.

Dealing with sources Depending of the question you should consider some or all of these points when analysing a source: Who made it? When was it made? Why was it made? What was the intended audience? Is it complete? Is it biased?

Secondary sources Are produced at a later date and are based on primary sources e.g. Because they were made after the time they should not be seen as second hand. They are very often reliable. Historians can build a better picture of the past by looking at a range of sources. Historians can also put the event into the context of the time as they were not involved.

Comparing the value of sources. Historians need to use a wide range of sources to balance out the strengths and weaknesses of the sources to get a good understanding of the issues. Remember though the historian may want to make a point so look out for ‘loaded language’.

The value of sources Content – What clues are there to show how well the historian understands and has researched the topic?

The value of sources Language – Are there any examples of loaded language where the historian’s attitude might affect the reliability of the source?

The value of sources Origins – Who is the historian? Do they have expert knowledge? When were they writing and is it important?

The value of sources Intention – Is the historian writing this for any particular purpose, for example to celebrate 100 years of anaesthetics or to argue with another historian?

The value of sources Nature – What sort of source is it – part of a series of works, a visual work or even a television documentary?

The value of sources Selection – Has the historian chosen to focus on one event or one aspect? Has anything been missed out?

Summary Historians views must be evaluated in the same way as other sources, they have both strengths and weaknesses. Primary sources are not automatically better than secondary sources. The value of any source depends on how the source context helps the historian while taking into account the source’s reliability, nature and origins to see if that gives it extra weight.