OPVL= EVALUATING A SOURCE

O- ORIGIN: Origin is where the source comes from: author/artist, date it was written/finished, which country the author/artist was born in, where the source was actually produced, in which media (newspaper, book, letter,etc) it is presented. Where did the source come from? Who did it come from? When did it come from?

P- PURPOSE: Purpose is where you have to put yourself in the author/artist's shoes. What do you think they were trying to communicate to readers? What ideas/feelings were they trying to express/evoke? (The purposeis especially important when it comes to pieces of propaganda as sources), What are the ramifications of the origins? In terms of the historical context of the source, what does it mean?

V- VALUE: Value is how valuable this source is. Basically it's linked to the amount of bias in the source: the more bias = the less valuable (usually). Primary sources are obviously more valuable than secondary/tertiary ones. Oh and obviously if you're doing something on Hitler's feelings towards Jews, a diary entry from him would be more valuable than a historian's account of how he felt. With the origin and purpose in mind, what value does this source have? (Bias does not make a source worthless!!!) What does it show about the society? What does it show about the type of thinking at that time?

L- LIMITATION: Limitations is also linked to bias, each source will be at least a little biased and thus they are limited by that. If the source has been translated from the original (eg. Hitler's diary entry was translated into English by a historian and you're using the historian's book as a source) then the language difference will be another source of inaccuracy and a limitation. Despite the value, what pitfalls in the origin and purpose cause this source to not be valuable? Is it damaged? Was it mistranslated? Was it corrupted since it was altered for a specific audience only?

Sample OPVL Paragraph The origin of this source is a journal that was written by _________ in ________in _______. Its purpose was to _________________ so ___________________. A value of this is that it gives the perspective of __________________________. However, a limitation is that ______________________, making ___________________________.

Just try to structure your source analysis with these points in a logical sequence; each one should build on top of previous points.

TIPS: ! Bias does not make a source worthless. ! Try to give a balanced discussion of value and limitations (dont spend a page on value and a sentence on limitations). ! In regards to origin, make sure you research the who or what organization is responsible for publication. ! Do not disregard a source because it is merely propaganda or advertising. ! Try to develop a purpose which relates to the origins of the source. ! Keep in mind different historical interpretations of the source. ! Is the source primary, secondary, etc? A historical artifact and an encyclopedia article are very different.