3 Evidence and Source Evaluation
Learn how to evaluate historical sources, compare accounts, and judge whether evidence supports, refutes, or leaves a claim unresolved.
Kinds of
can come from created during the period being studied, or from that later describe or interpret that past. Neither kind is automatically reliable or unreliable. A source’s usefulness depends on the question and claim being examined: it may be strong evidence for one claim but weak evidence for another.
Evaluate a source in context
Evaluate a source in relation to a particular question rather than labeling it simply “biased” or “unbiased.” Consider the creator’s role and access to events, how much time had passed, and the source’s intended purpose and audience. A private diary, public speech, and official report may describe the same event differently because they were created for different purposes and audiences.
Separate details the source directly shows or says from your own inferences. Also consider limitations: the creator may have had incomplete information, a particular point of view, or a reason to persuade. Missing details do not by themselves prove that an event did or did not happen. These questions help identify which parts of a source are useful, for what purpose, and with what caution.
Compare accounts
involves comparing sources to see where they agree, differ, or leave gaps. Seek accounts created by different people or institutions, and check whether accounts that seem separate may have copied the same report. Several accounts repeating one claim are not necessarily independent confirmation.
For example, a participant’s letter says a town meeting began in the morning, an official schedule lists a morning start, and a newspaper printed later that day also reports a morning start. The letter and schedule support the timing claim. The newspaper adds support only if it relied on independent reporting. If one account describes a crowded meeting and another describes many empty seats, the difference calls for further investigation rather than an immediate choice of one account as true. Agreements and discrepancies can help refine interpretations and guide the search for additional evidence.
Match claims to evidence
A sound historical argument links a claim to relevant evidence and explains the reasoning that connects them. Check whether the evidence actually supports the claim, whether it is specific enough, and whether other evidence complicates it. Evidence about one person’s experience can support a claim about that person, but by itself may not support a claim about what an entire town believed.
Classify claims according to what the evidence justifies:
Supported: Relevant evidence backs the claim, and the reasoning fits the evidence.
Refuted: Reliable evidence contradicts the claim.
: The available evidence is insufficient, incomplete, or conflicting.
A claim is not supported just because it sounds plausible or appears in a source. An claim is not thereby false; it has not been established by the evidence examined so far. Keep historical conclusions proportional to the evidence’s strength and limits, and revise them when new sources are considered.