UNIT #1: BEING A HISTORIAN

Using Primary and Secondary Sources

Part 1: Locating, Differentiating, and Interpreting

Sources

By:

Mr. Mathis – Johnston Middle School

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

Primary Source

Secondary Source

Artifact

Historical Records

Validity

ESPN Factors: Economic, Social, Political,

eNvironmental

STUDENT-FRIENDLY OBJECTIVES

I can use computer software, databases, media

and news services, biographies, interviews, and

artifacts to locate information about Texas

history.

I can distinguish between and interpret primary

sources and secondary sources to learn about

Texas history.

I can use the ESPN categorization to learn

about events in Texas history.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How is the examination of historical

record/evidence enhanced by the analysis of

both primary and secondary sources?

What is the difference between primary and

secondary sources?

How can the historical record be both huge

and limited?

Primary sources

are parts of the

historical record

from people who are

participants in,

observe and record

or leave

evidence/artifacts

about those events

or times.

PRIMARY SOURCES

1900 Galveston Storm

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

Primary sources can be • public documents [laws, legal, official text, books]; • private documents [diaries, letters, cookbooks…] • images/audio, objects, personal items…

Often, primary sources include people’s impressions or

opinions.

Primary sources may contain the word I.

Historians access and interpret the content, reliability and

validity of primary sources to separate facts from the opinions

and get an accurate picture of events.

Secondary sources

have already

synthesized and

interpreted multiple

sources and contain

descriptions and

interpretations of

events.

SECONDARY SOURCES

EXAMPLES OF SECONDARY SOURCES

Secondary sources are often• Textbooks, magazines articles, encyclopedias or

anything that describes past/current events;• Created by people who rely on someone else’s

descriptions of what actually happened.• We use secondary sources because they are convenient.

These sources represent the historian or authors

INTERPRETATION of primary source material. In a primary

sources the reader (historian) interprets the source

him/herself.

An artifact is a man-

made object that has

some kind of cultural

significance.

A simple object (such

as a tool or weapon) that

was made by people in

the past.

ARTIFACT

EXAMPLES OF ARTIFACTS

Historical records

are literally any piece

of evidence from the

past. Most historical

evidence is lost.

HISTORICAL RECORD

Historical

records/evidence do

not have to be written.

CSI – A FAMILY DINNER

It was a day like any other, you have been forced

to go out to dinner with your family. You had just

finished watching episode of CSI Miami…

Someone or something turns up missing… It’s up

to you…

What would be some examples of historical record

or evidence of your evening with your family?

Receipt for the

dinner

Menu

Trash left on the

table

Someone who took a

photo of the family

Waitress memory of

serving the family

Location of the

restaurant

Fingerprints

Patrons

LOOKING FOR HISTORICAL RECORD

Evidence Evidence

Validity refers to the

quality of being

logically or factually

sound; soundness or

cogency.

Example: Is this

website a valid

secondary source for

my research paper?

VALIDITY

WHICH WEBSITES TO TRUST

.gov sites are usually the most reliable

.edu sites are associated with an educational institution and

have high reliability

.org sites are associated with education and/or non-profit

organizations and are generally reliable

.com sites are established for commercial purposes – they

often represent bias in their choice of documents to include as

well as significant advertisements

Personal websites are often the least reliable as sources of

information for historical research.

ESPN

Economic factors – relate to money, taxes, industry, agriculture, jobs,

availability or resources, way people organize for the production,

distribution and so on.

Social Factors – relate to population density, immigration, cultural

diversity, lifestyle, and leisure time.

Political Factors – relate to the functions and procedures of

government, laws, and elected officials; factors that deal with the topic

of power and control

eNvironmental Factors – relate to the setting or physical environment

of a place/time/event