2 Working with Historical Sources Free Online FlashCards

What is a primary source?

A primary source was created during the period or events being studied, or by someone with direct experience of them.

Why can a source’s primary or secondary status depend on the research question?

The categories depend on the research question: a textbook about an earlier event is secondary, but it can be primary evidence for how history was taught when it appeared.

How does an observation differ from an inference about a source?

An observation describes what the source contains; an inference interprets what that content may mean. For example, a letter asking for more workers is an observation, while concluding that the writer feared a labor shortage is an inference.

What should you consider when examining a source’s authorship?

Ask who created it and how the creator’s role, knowledge, beliefs, or interests may have shaped the perspective.

What does a source’s intended audience help you assess?

Identify who was expected to read, hear, or view it; a private letter to a trusted friend may differ from a public speech aimed at voters.

What is a source’s purpose?

Purpose is why a source was made. It may have been intended to inform, persuade, record, justify, entertain, or commemorate.

How can historical context help explain a source?

Historical context means the political, social, economic, and cultural conditions of the time that can help explain a source’s language, choices, and silences.

Does bias automatically make a historical source useless?

Bias does not automatically make a source useless or false. A persuasive speech may still reveal what its speaker wanted an audience to believe.

What is corroboration in historical research?

Corroboration is comparing sources to identify where they agree, differ, or leave gaps.

Why might agreement among several sources be less convincing than it seems?

Agreement strengthens a conclusion most when accounts are independent. Several sources may repeat the same original report or share the same limitations.

What can disagreement between historical sources reveal?

Disagreement may reveal different interests, experiences, or interpretations, making it historically valuable rather than merely a problem to resolve.

What factors help determine what a source can establish?

Assess whether it is complete, accurate, representative, and close in time to the events it describes; also consider omissions, unfamiliar terms, editing, translation, and preservation.