Examples of Primary sources
secondary sources is to interpret
 Autobiographies and memoirs
 Diaries, personal letters, and
correspondences
 Interviews, surveys, and fieldworks
 Photographs, drawings and posters
 Works of art and literature
 Books, magazine and newspaper
articles and ads published at the time
 Speeches and oral histories
 Original documents (birth
certificates, property deeds, trial
transcripts
 Artifacts of all kinds, such as tools,
coins, clothing, furniture, etc.)
 Audio recordings, video recordings
 Government documents (reports,
bills, proclamations, hearings, etc)
 Patents
 Technical reports
Four main categories of Primary
Sources
 Written sources
 Images
 Artifacts
 Oral Testimony
NOTE: Examining primary sources
give you a powerful sense of
history and the
complexity of the past and can also
guide you toward higher-order
thinking and better
critical thinking and analysis skills.
On the other hand, the functions of
primary sources, assign
value to, conjecture upon, and draw
conclusions about the events
reported in primary sources. These
are usually in the form of
published works such as journal
articles or books, but may
include radio or
television documentaries, or
conference proceedings.
secondary sources are historical
sources, which studied a certain
historical subject (Torres, 2018)
A secondary source interprets and
analyzes primary sources.
Examples
 Bibliographies
 Biographical works
 Reference books, including
dictionaries, encyclopaedias
 Articles from magazines, journals,
and newspapers after the event
 Literature reviews and review
articles (e.g. movie reviews, book
reviews)
 History books and other popular or
scholarly books
 Works of criticism and interpretation
 Textbooks
Examples: history textbook; printed
materials (serials. Periodicals which
interprets previous
research)
Topic: Tejeros Convention
 Primary Source – Santiago
Alvarez’ account
 Secondary Source – Teodoro
Agoncillo’s Revolt of the Masses
  If a historian chooses to write
the history of education in the
1980s, he can utilize textbooks
used in that period as a primary
source.
 If a historian wishes to study
the historiography of the
Filipino-American War for
example, he can use works of
different authors on the topic as
his primary sources as well.
Both primary and secondary
sources are useful in writing
and learning history. However,
historians and students of history need
to thoroughly scrutinize these historical
sources to avoid deception and to
come up with the historical truth
(Candelaria, J. L. P. 2018).
Technical Tools in Identifying and
Authenticating Historical Sources
a. Paleography - study of handwriting,
evolution of writing, ability to
distinguish the different traditions of
writing styles; types of medium
utilized; ability to spot fakes; nuances
in writing through different periods.
b. Diplomatic - used primarily for
textual analysis; writing styles maybe
determined by its specific time/period
wherein there is a set of writing
conventions and formulas.
c. Archaeology
d. Statistics
e. Additional Technical Tools
the United States did not only use
brute force but also effected
ingenious ways of pacification such as
the use of education as a tool to
control their subjects and increase
political and economic power of the
elite few.
These colonial instruments were so
ingrained among
Filipinos that they perceived their
colonial past in two ways: initially
maltreated by “wicked Spain” but
later rescued by “benevolent
America.” This kind of historical
consciousness has effectively
erased from the memories of
Filipino generations the bloody
Filipino-American War as
exemplified by the Balangiga
Massacre in Eastern Samar and
the Battle of Bud Bagsak in Sulu.
Consequently, such perception
breathes new life to
the two part view of history: a
period of darkness before the
advent of the United States and an
era of enlightenment during the
American colonial administration. This
view has resonated with Filipino
scholars even after the Americans
granted our independence in 1946.
The writing of history during the
American period can be considered
better compared to the writings of
history during the Spanish period.
Although, most of the writings were
extremely biased, still there were few
Americans who wrote in favour of the
Filipinos. Historians during this period
can be classified into Filipino
Ilustrado, American colonial
officials, non-colonial officials and
the so-called academic historians.