HISTORY

“WHO CONTROLS THE PRESENT,

CONTROLS THE PAST
WHO CONTROLS THE PAST,
CONTROLS THE FUTURE."

-GEORGE
ORWELL
 I STOR I C A L
H
SOU R C E S
 HISTORICAL
SOURCES
Sources- an object from the past
or testimony concerning the past
on which historians depend in
order to create their own
depiction of that past.
 Primary and
Secondary Sources
What are they?
Advantages and disadvantages of
primary and secondary sources.
Categories
 Primary Sources
Primary sources enable the researcher
to get as close as possible to what
actually happened during a historical
event or time period.
 Primary Sources
Primary sources are original records
of a certain event by people who have
actually experienced or witnessed it.
Secondary Sources

A secondary source is something

written about a primary source.
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources, on the other hand,
are records based on primary sources.
They explain a certain event of the past
through evaluation and interpretation of
the records created during a historical
period.
Secondary Sources

Secondary source materials can be

articles in newspapers, magazines,
books, or articles found that evaluate
or criticize someone else’s original
research.
Primary Advantages
Sources
Primary sources provide a window into
the past -- unfiltered access to the record
of artistic, social, scientific and political
thought and achievement during the
specific period under study, produced by
people who lived during that period.
Primary Advantages
Sources

These unique, often profoundly personal,

document and objects can give a very
real sense of what it was like to be alive
during a long-past era.
Primary Advantages
Sources

Direct contact with the original records

and artifacts invite students to explore
the content with active and deeper
analysis, and to respond thoughtfully;
Primary Advantages
Sources

Critical thinking is developed as

students probe the context, purpose,
meaning, bias, and perspectives in
their analysis of the past;
Primary Disadvantages
Sources

Primary sources are often incomplete

and have little context. Students must
use prior knowledge and work with
multiple primary sources to find
patterns
Primary Disadvantages
Sources

In analyzing primary sources, students

move from concrete observations and
facts to questioning and making
interferences about the materials.
Secondary
Advantages
Sources

Secondary sources can provide

analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or
evaluation of the original information.
Secondary
Advantages
Sources

Secondary sources are best for

uncovering background or historical
information about a topic and
broadening your understanding of a
topic by exposing you to others’
perspectives, interpretations, and
conclusions.
Secondary
Advantages
Sources

Allows the reader to get expert views

of events and often bring together
multiple primary sources relevant to
the subject matter.
Secondary
Disadvantages
Sources

Their reliability and validity are open

to question, and often they do not
provide exact information
Secondary
Disadvantages
Sources

They do not represent first-hand

knowledge of a subject or event
Secondary
Disadvantages
Sources

There are countless books, journals,

magazine articles and web pages that
attempt to interpret the past and
finding good secondary sources can
be an issue.
Thank
you