Historical Source Analysis - Key Terms & Concepts

Origin of a Source

• Who created the source as well as where and when it was produced.

• The main theme or topic of the source.

• The intended audience for the source.

• The historical context surrounding the source.

Corroborate

• To contradict or oppose

• Support; given greater credibility by providing evidence.

• To summarize or condense information

• To ignore or overlook evidence

Evidence

• A type of historical document that is always accurate.

• What can be learnt from a historical source to help construct a historical argument.

• A personal opinion about historical events.

• A summary of events without any sources.

What is a Primary Source?

• Objects and documents created or written during the time being investigated (e.g. artefacts; official documents such as treaties; personal documents such as diaries, photographs and film).

• Secondary sources that analyze and interpret primary sources.

• Historical narratives written by historians after the events have occurred.

• Modern interpretations of past events based on current knowledge.

Accuracy of a source

• Sources are always accurate and reliable.

• Sources can contain a mix of accurate and inaccurate information due to factors like the author's limited knowledge, biases, or the passage of time.

• All sources are biased and should not be trusted.

• The accuracy of a source is determined solely by the author's credentials.

Purpose or motive of a source

• Analysis of a source to establish the original reason for its creation.

• A summary of the content of the source.

• The author's personal opinion on the subject matter.

• A critique of the source's reliability.

Interpretations

• Explanations of the past; there may be more than one interpretation because historians may have used different sources or held different points of view.

• A single, universally accepted explanation of historical events.

• The process of rewriting history to fit modern narratives.

• A method used by historians to ignore conflicting evidence.

Continuity

• Aspects of the past that remained the same over certain periods of time.

• Changes that occurred over time in various aspects of society.

• The study of historical events and their impact on the present.

• A method of analyzing trends in historical data.

Historical argument

• A claim justified with reference to evidence.

• A statement of opinion without evidence.

• A narrative that lacks factual basis.

• A hypothesis that is not testable.

Significance

• Relating to events, periods, developments, perspectives and ideas of the past, which are regarded as having important consequences, duration and relevance to the present.

• A term used to describe the importance of a single event without considering its historical context.

• A measure of how much time has passed since a particular event occurred.

• A concept that only applies to modern events and has no relevance to historical perspectives.