2 Working with Primary Sources Free Online FlashCards

What is a primary source?

An original document, object, image, recording, or other evidence connected to the time or people being studied.

Why can a source’s classification as primary depend on the research question?

It depends on the historical question. A newspaper article is primary evidence for what the newspaper reported, but may be secondary evidence about an event it describes without firsthand knowledge.

Why shouldn’t one primary source be treated as the whole story?

A primary source offers partial evidence shaped by its creator and purpose. Historians compare it with other evidence rather than treating it as the whole story.

What is a useful starting process for finding primary sources?

Begin with a focused question, identify useful search terms, and search reliable archives, libraries, museums, or historical collections.

What should you check when examining a scan or photograph of an original item?

Check whether the item is complete, cropped, transcribed, translated, or otherwise edited.

Why might an online collection give an incomplete picture of the past?

What survives, was collected, and was digitized shapes what researchers can find; online collections may not represent everyone or every perspective.

What does it mean to establish a source’s historical context?

Establish when and where it was made, what was happening, and what circumstances shaped its creation.

How does an observation differ from an inference?

An observation is a detail directly visible in the source; an inference is an interpretation of what that detail might mean.

Does a source’s perspective automatically make it false?

Perspective helps explain what a source can and cannot show; it does not automatically prove the source is false.

How should you judge whether a source is reliable?

Reliability depends on the specific claim: assess how well the source supports that point rather than applying a blanket label.

How can corroboration strengthen the evaluation of a source?

Compare it with other evidence, ideally from different creators, formats, and perspectives, and investigate agreement, disagreement, and details needing further checking.

What makes a careful historical argument?

State a focused claim, support it with specific source details, explain how they support the claim, acknowledge limitations, and cite sources.