1 Evaluating Evidence Free Online FlashCards

How should a source’s quality be judged?

Assess a source in relation to the specific research question; source type alone does not determine its quality.

What does provenance describe?

Provenance is information about a record’s origin and custody, including who created or received it, when and why it was created, and how it was preserved.

What is corroboration?

Corroboration compares sources to identify agreement, disagreement, and gaps. Agreement may strengthen a claim; disagreement can reveal perspectives or questions for further research.

What context can affect how evidence should be interpreted?

Interpret a source in light of its time and place, creator’s role, intended audience, prevailing conventions, and the conditions under which information was collected.

What is the difference between observation and inference?

An observation is what a source directly contains; an inference is a conclusion drawn from that content.

Why is archival silence not proof that something never existed?

The surviving record may be unrepresentative because materials were never created, were lost or destroyed, or were not selected for preservation. Archival silence does not prove an event or perspective did not exist.

What should you examine when assessing a source?

Consider who created it, their expertise and access, its intended purpose and audience, how information was gathered, and whether it is specific and complete enough.

Why is a firsthand source not automatically conclusive?

A firsthand account may provide direct observations, but memory, perspective, or purpose can limit it. A later analysis may compare many records but depends on its evidence and methods.

What does uncertain provenance mean for a source?

Uncertain provenance does not automatically make a source useless, but it makes some claims about the source harder to support.

Why can several reports fail to provide independent corroboration?

Reports that repeat one original account are not necessarily independent confirmations. Look for sources from different creators or organizations that use distinct methods or evidence.

Why might public and private accounts of an event differ?

A public announcement and a private letter may describe the same event differently because they had different audiences and purposes; neither should be accepted or rejected for that reason alone.

What can a photograph of a damaged building establish by itself?

A photograph of a damaged building directly shows damage, but by itself it may not establish when it occurred, who caused it, or how widespread it was.