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PRIMARY

SOURCES

IN HISTORY

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What do historians do?

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Historians, however, make a serious and

systematic attempt to explain the past and attempt

to use the knowledge they gain to help explain

human nature and contemporary affairs.

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Definitions

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Evidence:

Anything within the range of the historians

experience-document, opinion, monument,

artifact, tradition, and so on-that can beused as a basis for statements about the

past; often called sources.

Ritter, S.Dictionary of Historical Concepts

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Sources are artifacts that have been left by

the past. They exist either as relics, what

we might call remains, or as the

testimonies of witnesses of the past.

Howell, M & Preveinier, W.

From Reliable Sources: an introduction to

Historical Methods

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Primary sources record the actual words of

someone who participated in or witnessed the

events described or someone who got his or

her information from participants.

Benjamin, J.

Students Guide to History

D 16.3 .B4 2001

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Secondary sources record the findings

of someone who did not observe the event but

who investigated primary evidence.

Benjamin, J.

Students Guide to History

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Yale University Library Primary Sources Research

Colloquium:

A primary source is firsthand testimony or

direct evidence concerning a topic under

investigation. The nature and value of the

source cannot be determined without

reference to the topic and questions it ismeant to answer. The same document or

other piece of evidence may be a primary

source in one investigation and secondary

in another. The search for primary sourcesdoes not, therefore, automatically include or

exclude any category of records or

documents.

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Written Transmissions

Books

Journals

Letters

Annals Dissertations

Public records

Census data

Eyewitness accounts

Scripture Inscriptions

Newspapers

Diaries

Chronicles

Government documents

Personal or institutionalpapers

Genealogies

Manuscripts

Laws

Scrolls Period literature and

poetryFromUsing Internet Primary Sources to

Teach Cri t ica l Thinking Ski l ls in

HistoryCraver, Kathleen, D 16.2 .C79 1

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Oral Transmissions

Speeches

Anecdotes

Sagas

Oral histories

Music

Interviews (not

videotaped)

Ballads

Legends

Telephone conversations

Recordings (tape &records)

Myths FromUsing Internet Primary Sour ces

to Teach Cri t ica l Thinkin g Ski l ls in

HistoryCraver, Kathleen, D 16.2 .C79

1999, p.19

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Visually Transmitted

Sculpture

Photographs

Portraits

Maps Cartoons

Coins

Videotapes

Films

Posters Engravings

Models & dioramas

Woodcuts

Architecture

Etchings

Relics

Historical paintings

Artifacts

Computer generatedgraphics FromUsing Internet Primary Sour ces

to Teach Cri t ica l Thinkin g Ski l ls in

HistoryCraver, Kathleen, D 16.2 .C79

1999, p.19

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Electronically Transmitted

Faxes

Electronic mail

Machine readable databases

[Web pages] FromUsing Internet Primary Sourc es to Teach Cri t ica l Thinking Ski l ls in History

Craver Kathleen, D 16.2 .C79 1999,

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All Things Considered

Authenticity

Reliability

Disagreement

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Helpful Resources

History - Methodology

History - Research

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World Wide Web

Archives

Historical Books

Amer ican Memoryand Making of Amer ica

Cataloged Web Sites: BUBLINK,

INFOMINE, SCOUT REPORT BUBLINK

History

Internet Classics Archive

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The End