Historical Sources and Criticism

This part of the module will give you the overview of the different kinds of historical
sources. But before we move to that let me give you the importance of a historical source.
Generally, these sources are considered as the most important research tools for historian.
Most historical source materials can be grouped into four basic categories: documents,
numerical records, oral statements and relics.
The main emphasis in historical research is on interpretation of documents, diaries and
the like. Historical data are categorized into primary or secondary sources (Fraenkel & Wallen,
n.d.)
Historical sources may be classified as primary and secondary (Fox, 1969). A primary
source is regarded as the source of the “best evidence”. This is because the data come from the
testimony of a able eye and eye witnesses to past events. They may also consist of actual
objects used in the past which you can directly scrutinize or examine. Secondary source are
information supplied by a person who was not a direct observer or participant of the event,
object, or condition (Sevilla et. Al, 1992.)
 
LESSON PROPER
 
HISTORICAL SOURCES
 
PRIMARY SOURCES
A primary source provides direct or first-hand evidence about an event, an object, a
person, or a work of art. These primary sources provide the original materials on which other
research is based and enable students and other researchers to get as close as possible to
what actually happened during a particular event or era. Published materials can be viewed as
primary sources as long as they come from the time period that is being discussed, and were
written or produced by someone with first-hand experience of the event. For instance, the
stenographic notes of a court trial and the news reporter’s account of the trial are primary
sources. All physical objects, including photographs, and cultural institutions and practices are
primary sources themselves and all accounts written about them by those who had actually
seen and experienced are primary sources.
History as an academic discipline heavily relies on primary sources, as evaluated by a
community of scholars, who report their findings in books, articles and papers. As one historian
says, “Primary sources are absolutely fundamental to history”. Generally, a historian capitalizes
on all available primary sources that were created by the people involved at the time being
studied. In reality some sources have been destroyed, while others are not available for
research. The most reliable eyewitness reports of an event may be memoirs, autobiographies,
or oral interviews taken years or even centuries ago. Manuscripts that are sources for classical
texts can be copies of documents, or fragments of copies of documents. For this reason, history
is usually taught in schools using secondary sources.
Historians who are into publishing academic articles with fresh or new perspectives
prefer to go back to available primary sources and to seek new ones. Primary sources, be it
accurate or not, offer new inputs into historical questions and most modern history dwells on
archives and special collections for the purpose of finding useful primary sources. It is then
essential to classify the sources to determine its independence and reliability. In context such as
historical writing, it is indeed advisable to use primary sources but in the absence of one, the
author may use the secondary sources with great caution.
 
Determine if Primary Source
Ask yourself:
1. Was it produced, written, or painted during a specific time period?
2. Did the person live during the time or event?
 
Different Kinds of Primary Sources:
Literary or Cultural Sources:
1. Novels, plays, poems (both published and in manuscript form)
2. Television shows, movies, or videos
3. Paintings or photographs
Accounts that describe events, people, or ideas:
1. Newspapers
2. Chronicles or historical accounts
3. Essays and speeches
4. Memoirs, diaries, journals, and letters
5. Philosophical treaties or manifestos
Information about people:
1. Census records
2. Obituaries
3. Newspaper articles
4. Biographies and autobiographies
Finding information about a place:
1. Maps and atlases
2. Census information
3. Statistics
4. Photographs
5. City directories
6. Local libraries or historical societies
Finding information about an organization:
1. Archives (sometimes held by libraries, institutions, or historical societies
 
Three Types of Written Sources
1. Narrative sources or literary sources tell a story or message. These include diaries, films,
biographies, leading philosophical works and scientific works.
2. Diplomatic sources include charters and other legal documents which observe a set format.
3. Social documents are records created by organizations, such as register of births and tax
records.
 
 
SECONDARY SOURCES
Secondary sources generally describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze,
evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. These secondary source materials can be
articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles found in
scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone else’s original research. All writings by
people who have never experienced nor observed personally the objects and have based their
writings upon the information gathered from those who have knowledge of the events are
secondary sources.
In historiography, when a study of history is subject to historical scrutiny, a secondary
source becomes a primary source. The historian’s publication can likewise be a primary source.
Documentary films are considered secondary or primary sources depending on how much the
film maker modifies the original source.
            Whether a source is regarded as primary or secondary in a given context may change,
depending upon the present state of knowledge within the field. For example, if a document
refers to the contents of a previous but undiscovered letter, that document may be considered
 ‘primary’, since it is the closest known thing to an original source, but if the letter is later found, it
may then be considered ‘secondary’.
 
Determine if Secondary Source
Ask yourself:
1. Was it produced, written, or painted after a specific time period?
2. Did the person live after the time or event?
Examples of Secondary Sources:
1. Books with endnotes and footnotes
2. Reprint of artwork
3. A journal or magazine which interprets or reviews previous findings
4. Conference proceedings
5. Literary Criticism
6. Book reviews
 
TERTIARY SOURCES
Tertiary sources are publications that summarize and digest the information in primary and
secondary sources to provide background on a topic, idea or event.
Examples of Tertiary Sources:
1. Dictionaries
2. Almanacs
3. Fact books
4. Directories, Guidebooks and Manuals
 
IMPORTANCE OF HISTORICAL SOURCES
1. Useful in writing and learning history
2. Can be useful in doing historical research that is important in establishing historical truth.
3. However, a student should not scrutinize these sources to avoid deception. Rather, the student
must dwell on internal and external criticism.
 
 
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
 
External Criticism
            The practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence by examining its physical
characteristics. This also refers to the genuineness of the document a researcher used in a
historical study. Some questions that illustrate external criticism include: Who was the author,
what was his/her qualifications, personality, and position? How soon after the events was the
document written and how was the document was written and is it related to other document?
 
Internal Criticism
            This is the examination of truthfulness of the evidence. It looks at the content of the
document to determine its authenticity. This is referred to as the textual criticism, it involves
factor such as competence, good faith, position, and bias of the author (Sanchez, 1980). It also
involves determining the intention of the source of data while external criticism conducts
document analysis using science.
            To simplify, the authenticity of the document is determined by external criticism, whereas
credibility is established by internal criticism.
The purpose of criticism is to validate historical sources that tend to manipulate
conclusions which are indeed deceptive in the analysis and study of history. We don’t entertain
lies in studying history.