READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Darwin Cama
Shannon Lyn Nombrado
Distinction of Primary and Secondary Resources
At the end of this module, you are
expected to:
1.Discuss the primary and secondary resources of
history
2.Determine the different primary and secondary
resource of history
3.Appreciate the importance history in social and
national life of the Philippines
4.Determine the branches of social sciences
 Historical Resources
Historian’s most important research tools are
historical sources. In general, historical resources can
be classified between primary and secondary sources.
The classification of sources between these two
categories depends on the historical subject being
studied.
A. PRIMARY RESOURCES

Primary sources are usually

defined as first-hand
information or data that is
generated by witnesses or
participants in past events.
Those sources produced at same
time as the event, period, or subject
being studied. These materials are
often located in the Special
Collections of a library, rather than in
the general collection.
Are characterized not by their format but rather
by the information they convey and their
relationship to the research question. They
include letters, diaries, journals, newspapers,
photographs, and other immediate accounts.
The interpretation and evaluation of these
sources becomes the basis for research.
Examples:
If a historian wishes to study the
Commonwealth Constitution Convention of
1935, his primary resources can include the
minutes of the convention, newspaper clipping,
Philippine Commission reports of the U.S
Commissioners, records of the convention, the
draft of the constitution, and even photographs
of the events.
The same goes with other subjects of
historical study. Archival documents,artifacts,
memorabilia, letters, census, and government
record, among others are the most common
examples of primary resources.
Figure1. Alibata
Figure2. Philippine Artifact
Figure3. Philippine Event
B. SECONDARY RESOURCES

Those sources, which were produced

by an author who used primary sources
to produce the material. In other
words, secondary sources are historical
sources, which studied a certain
historical subject.
Example:
The subject of
Philippine Revolution of
1896, students can read
Teodoro Agoncillo’s Revolt
of Masses: The Story of
Bonifacio and the
Katipunan published
originally in 1956.

Figure 4. The Revolt of the Masses by Teodoro Agoncill

difference of primary and secondary
resources, as mentiond above, the
classification of sources between primary
and secondary depends not on the period
when the source was produced or the type
of the source but not on the subject of the
historical research.
Both primary and secondary
sources are useful in writing and learning
history. However, historians and students of
history need to thoroughly scrutinize these
historical sources to avoid deception and to
come up with the historical truth,
The historian should be able
to conduct an external and
internal criticism of the
sources especially primary
resources which can age in
centuries.
A. External Criticisms - sometimes called as “lower criticism”
- is the practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence
by examining its physical characteristics; consistency with the historical
characteristics of the time when it was produced: and materials used for
evidence.
- Form and appearance and more particularly to
question of authorship and textual circumstances such as time, place and
purpose.
- External criticism applies "science to a document." It
involves such physical and technical tests as dating of paper a document is
written on, but it also involves a knowledge of when certain things existed
or were possible, e.g. when zip codes were invented.*
B. Internal Criticism- Sometimes called as “higher criticism”
- The examination of the truthfulness of
the evidence, it looks at the content of the source and examines
the circumstance of its production. It looks at the truthfulness
and factuality of the evidence by looking at the author of the
source, its context, the agenda behind its creation, the
knowledge which informed it, and its intended purpose among
others.
- Internal criticism looks within the data
itself to try to determine truth--facts and "reasonable"
interpretation. It includes looking at the apparent or possible
motives of the person providing the data.
References and Supplementary Materials
Books and Journals
1. Antonio, Eleonor D., Dallo, Evangeline M. at et al... ; 2010; Kayamanan
(kasaysayan ng Pilipinas); Sampaloc, Manila; Rex Book Store, Inc.
2. Agoncillo, Teodoro A.; 2010; Philippine History; South Triangle, Quezon City;
C & E Publishing, Inc.
3. Candelaria, John Lee P., Alporha, Veronica C.: Reading in Philippine History;
Sampaloc Manila : REX Book Store, Inc.
Online Supplementary Reading Materials
1. https://www.researchgate.net/application.TemporarilyBlocked.html
2. https://www.slideshare.net/myboyfriend10/external-and-internal-criticisms
3. http://vccslitonline.vccs.edu/mrcte/intextcr.htm