Working With Sources

UWP 102C | Melissa Bender

Primary Sources
Originate in the time period the historians are
studying.
• Personal memoirs • Paintings
• Gov’t documents • Photographs
• Legal documents • Archaelogical objects
• Oral histories • Biological evidence
Secondary Sources
Reflect on earlier times. Written by historians or other
academics about the past, using primary sources as
evidence. Secondary sources advance arguments and
interpretations about the past and the sources.
• Scholarly books • Peer-reviewed journal articles.
Tertiary Sources
Do not advance an original argument or interpretation, but
summarize or explain existing research and established
knowledge on a particular topic.

• Encyclopedias • Internet sources for general

• Textbooks audience or students:
• Khan Academy
• History Today
Making History
Historians suggest probable interpretations
by using their sources to make inferences.
--William Kelleher Storey, p. 59
Sources & Inferences
What is an inference?
Sources & Inferences
What is an inference?
An intelligent conclusion based on the examination
and comparison of evidence.
Sources & Inferential Reasoning
Historians build inferences by juxtaposing and
comparing:
■ Primary sources to each other.

■ Primary & secondary sources.

■ Sources with the historian’s own general

knowledge about the period or event.
■ Sources with factual certainties.
Examining Primary Sources
■ What is it? Describe the source.
■ Where, when, and by whom was it created?
■ What else was going in the world at this time?
■ How does this source fit in with what you know
about the history of this period?
■ Is this source reliable?
■ How might this source contribute to our
understanding of the past?
Examining Secondary Sources
■ What is the main argument or interpretation
offered by the author?
■ Where, when, and by whom was it published?
■ What sources has the writer drawn upon to
formulate their argument?
■ How does the argument compare to those in
other secondary sources?
■ Do you agree with the inferences and
conclusions the writer presents?