Evaluating Sources

Which source is more trustworthy to answer this question?
Who was present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence?

• Hollywood movie about the American Revolution made in 2001.
• Book written by a famous historian who is an expert on the American Revolution, published in 1999.
• None of the above.

Which source is more trustworthy to answer this question?
What was slavery like in South Carolina?

• Interview with former slave in 1936. The interviewer is a black man collecting oral histories for the Federal Writers' Project
• Interview with former slave in 1936. the interviewer is a white woman collecting oral histories for the Federal Writers' Project
• None of the above.

Which source is more trustworthy to answer this question?
What was the layout of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz?

• Interview with 80 year-old Holocaust survivor in 1985.
• Map of concentration camp found in Nazi files.
• None of the above.

Which source is more trustworthy to answer this question?
Why were Japanese Americans pout in internment camps during WWII?

• Government film explaining internment from 1942.
• Government report on Japanese internment from 1983 based on declassified government documents.
• None of the above.

Which source is more trustworthy to answer this question?
Did American soldiers commit atrocities during the Vietnam War in 1969?

• Sworn testimony by American Sergeant in Congressional hearings in 1969.
• Speech by American General touring the United States in 1969.
• None of the above.

Which source is more trustworthy to answer this question?
What happened at the Battle of Little Bighorn?

• High school history textbook from 1985.
• Newspaper account from the day after the battle in June 1876.
• None of the above.

Which source is more trustworthy to answer this question?
What is Katie Ledecky's best swim time?

• A YouTube video of her race from the Rio Olympics.
• The swimming records page on the FINA website.
• None of the above.

Which source is more trustworthy to answer this question?
What is Jaden Smith's favorite ice cream flavor?

• An interview of Jaden himself on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
• An article in an entertainment magazine with pictures of the trash cans outside of Jaden's house.
• None of the above.