(

hi ^. "". t* 1
THE MOVE TO GLOBAL WAR ^y{.^ \

For the secondquestion, you ng^^Tevaluate one
source in terms of its "v^y^^nd "limitations"by
examining its orig^pCxpose and content. This
question is -vjjj^T^ marks.
To fij^j^Ke origin andpurpose look carefully at the
^enance of the source:
For origin Who wrote it/said it/drew it?
When didthe person write it/say it/draw it?
Where didthe person write it/say it/drawit?
Whatisthe source- a speech/cartoon/
textbook, etc.?
Forpurpose Why didthe person write it/say it/draw it?
Whodidthe person write it/say iVdrawit for?
Forcontent Isthe languageobjectiveor doesit sound
exaggeratedor one-sided?
What is the tone of the source?
Whatinformation and examples dothey
select orfocus onto support their point?
From the information you have on the origins
of the source, and what you can infer about the
document's purpose, you must then explain the
value and limitations the source has for historians
researchinga particular event or periodin history.
The grid on pages 7 and 8 gives you an idea of the
kinds of values and limitations connected with
different primary sources.
Examiner's hint: Note thatvahte and hmitatwns
givenin thegridaregeneralorgenericpointsthat
couldbe aypbedlo fkese sources SQ-wever,yo-w
contextual kncwledge andthe specific provenance of
any so'iireethatyougefm the,exammationwill aSow
youtomakemuehmereprecisecommentson the 'value
t td limitattens fffthe source that you evaluate in
a document question Notice alw that the value of :.
the sawce will ahvays depend cmwhatyw are "
usingitjvr - :;; . : ., ^ , '
What are the values and limitations
associated with secondary sources?
The most common secondary source that you
wUl have to deal with is one from a text book or
historian. Againthe key questions of "Whatis
the origin of the source?" and "What is the
source's purpose?" need to be addressed in order
to work out the value and limitation of the source
in question.
Here are some points you could consider regarding
the value and lunitations of works by historians
and biographers:

Limitation

Historians . areusuallyprofessfdnalsorexpertsinfield .. might have a broad focustotheirworkormight

. havethe benefitofhindsightwhichisnotpresent havea very specificandnarrowfocus
' incontemporarysaurces .' . -, ' ' .
.

migtrtfee an expert ina diff&reint region orere /

; '< may offersources basedon a rangevf ' / l fromthe onethey arewritingabout
documents; themore recent the publication, the » maybeinfluencedbytheirnationality, . - - '
"' moresourceswillbeavailable experience,politics orcontext
Biographers . Willhavestudiedtheindividualinquestionin .« mighthavebecometooinvolvedwiththeir
a' - much detail . < ^. . -> subject andhavetost cdajectivity
r,
v -
.

:. ; mayprovidesourcesthat^svevaluedjj^to ',. .',. may focustintherole of-the subject oftheir . . .

I
tone, useoflanguageandexpression biographyatthe expenseofotherindividualsor
factors
. sometimes havethebenefitofhindsight ' - '<
might not have direct access to the subject and/
orotherrelevant sources (the place and date
L.
t
:^'-; w<t<Ukey here] , ';.'.., --" ' '
mayhavehmftationsduetotone,useof ,
r,<.:''.

\. languageandexpression . *
 THE MOVE TO GLOBAL WAR
Referbackto the Examiner'shint on page 5 regardingthis table.
Private letters can offer insight in to personal views
(audience -the recipient) or opinions
can indicatethe affects ofan event or
Diaries
era on an individual ;.
(audience- personalnot
can suggest motives for public
public atthe time ofwriting)
actions or opi nions
can.throughtone,useoflanguage
andexpressiongiveinsightinto
perspective, opinion or emotions
Memoirs to be published canofferinsightintopersonalviews,
(audience- public] suggest motives for public actions
and might benefit from hindsight - an (
evaluation ofevents after the period
mightshowhowthe individualwants
his or her motive or actionsto be
viewed by the public
Newspapers, television or radio could reflectpublicly heldviewsor
reports popular opinion
Eyewitness accounts .
might offer an expert view
.
can give insight into contemporary
opinion
r tone,useoflanguageandexpression
--.I
Novelsorpoems couldinformcontemporaryopinion
mightofferinsightinto emotional
responsesand motives
.
r:. L:'X
. only give individual opinion, not
a general view or government
perspective
may give an opinion that changes
dueto laterevents ormaygivea view
not held in public
. mighthavethe motiveofpersuading
; . the audience (in the case ofprivate
letters)toactincertainway
. may have limitations because of
tone, use oflanguage and expression
.
may revise opi nions with the
benefitofhindsight,ie nowthe
consequencesofactionsare known
. might be written because the author
wantsto highlightthe strengthsof
hisorheractions- to improvethe
author'spublicimageorlegacy
. may have limitations because of
tone, use of language and expression
. could bepolitically influencedor
censored by specific governments
or regimes
,. may only give "overview" ofa situation
,. might only give a one-sided narrow
perspective
.. couldemphasizeonlya minorpart
of an issue
. may have limitations because of
(Note that eyewitnesses are not useful
just because they are at an event, each -
eyewitnesswill noticedifferentaspects
1 andmaymisskey pointsaltogether,
whichcould bea limitation]
. couldprovidea "dissenting"voice,
;.
i. e not popular opi nion
. could exaggerate the importance
of an event or individual
. could havepoliticalagenda
. may have limitations because of
tone,useoflanguageandexpression
 Statistics canofferinsightintogrowthand
decline .
mightsirggestcorrelationsbetween
indicators,e.g.unemploymerrtand .
voting patterns
mightsuggestthp impactofanfivent
or its results over time ,
make connp^risons easier ,
.
-" - >:. . ~!~
Photdgraphs can give 9 sense ofa specific $dne
or event
can offer insight into the imrfiediate
impactofan event on a particular
place, or people's immediate
response ... . : -
. <^ ' ''>.
might offerinformation onthe .. -'
environment
Cartoons or paintings can inform public opinion as
cartoonists often respond to
popularly held views . . ,
canportyaiythegovernment^line
whenthereiscensorship .. '. .
Government records and might showthe government's
documents position on an issue , *
Speeches can offerinsightintothe reasons
for decisipns made ; .
Memoranda
mightrevealthemotivesfor /. . .
government policies
can showwhatthe public has bpen
told about an event or issue by the
government
mightbea well-informedanalysis
Findpfitnarysourcesofthetypes listed inthegridabove Forthesourcesthatyou haveassessed,alsolookat
forthetBpi G that you are currently studyi ng Using the thecontentandthe languagebeingused Howdoesthe
notesinthe grid above, analyse thevalues andlimitations tone, styte or content help you to assess the value and
of each ofthese sources limitations ofthe sources'1'
t^
aregathered fordifferent purposes
(eg.political, economic) andcould be
detiberatdy distorted - ,. -"
mightrelateonlyto onelocationor
time period
mightsuggestincorrectcorrelations:
there could be another causal factor
not included in some sets ofstatistics
aretertlte(l aswecannotseebeyond
the "tens"
mightdistortthe"bigger"picture
becauseoftheir limited view
mightbestaged
migtrtreflect the purpose ofthe
photographer, whatdid heorshe
wantto show?
could be censored and not reflect
publicopinion
often play on stereotypes '
(particularlycartoons]and ,
exaggeration
could be limited to the viewpoint and
experience ofthe cartoonist or artist
(or the publication the cartoon
or painting appears in] ,
mayhavelimitationsbecauseof '
tone, use of language and expression
often do not offer insight into the
results of policies and decisions
mightnot reveal dissentordivergent
opinion . . ' ' '" .
. mightTWt show public opmion
. can be used to keep sensitive
informationclassifiedformany years
may not explainthe motivesfor a
decision orpolitical purpose
may have limitations because of
tone,useoflanguageandexpression