MODULE 3

Sources

Intended Learning Outcomes

 Distinguish primary sources from secondary or tertiary sources

By the end of this topic, students must be able to:

1. Define primary sources and differentiate them from secondary and tertiary
sources accurately;
2. Evaluate the reliability, credibility, and biases present in different sources.

Background

Traditionally, the study of Philippine history heavily relies on reading secondary

sources, specifically books written by early historians. This approach has made the
study relatively accessible to all, as these books are widely available. Consequently,
many students of history merely repeat what they have read in these widely distributed
books. In the following pages, students will understand that secondary sources interpret
and analyze primary sources, providing a perspective on historical events or topics.
Students will recognize as well that primary sources are original, firsthand materials
from the time period being studied.

Sources

Historical sources, in general, are the basis of our knowledge about the past from
which historians construct meanings. They are the historian’s fundamental tools in
providing particulars or historical facts and in reconstructing, understanding, analyzing,
and interpreting the human past. Such historical facts are woven together to present a
historical narrative. Accordingly, they can be grouped into four categories: documents,
numerical records, oral statements, and relics.

Sources can be artifacts left by the past either in the form of relics or testimonies
of witnesses to the past. Testimonies refer to oral or written report that describes an
event. For example, record of a property exchange or speeches or commentaries. The
authors of such can provide information about What happened, How and in what
circumstances the event occurred, and Why it occurred. Few sources however yield this
information in equal measure. However, content of testimonies is more important than
its form.

Historical work or interpretation is a result of depiction of the past. Historical

research emphasizes interpretation of documents, diaries and the like. Document refers
to any process of proof based upon any kind of source whether written, oral, pictorial or
archeological remains.
A primary source is a written document which serves as the testimony of an
eyewitness or of one who or that which was present at the events of which he/she tells.
It must have been produced by a contemporary of the events it narrates. It need not be
original in the legal sense as a later copy will do just as well. While it is harder to find,
most historical researchers preferred primary source because it is more accurate and
reliable.

A secondary source is the testimony of anyone who is not an eyewitness – that is

of one who was not present at the events of which he/she tells. Usually, the description
of the event is derived from someone else, hence, secondhand information.

Typology of Primary Sources

Scholars generally prefer first-hand accounts as basis to examine sources.

These accounts are popularly known as primary sources because they provide first
evidence of something that occurred in the past. Examples of categories of primary
sources include:

1. Autobiographies and memoirs

An autobiography is an account of a person’s life narrated by that person

himself or herself. A memoir is a record composed from personal observation
and experience of certain event. A memoir differs from autobiography as the
latter is primarily concerned with oneself as subject matter while the former on
the role the person played as observer or participant of historical event whose
purpose is to describe or interpret the event.

2. Diaries, Personal letters, and Correspondence

A diary is a record of a person’s regular activities and reflections which is

intended for personal consumption.
Personal letter is an informal communication sent from an individual to
another person.
Correspondence is a group of letters or communications between two
persons or entities.

3. Interviews, Surveys, and Fieldwork

An interview is being done in a question and answer format. It is a

conversation between two or more persons where questions are thrown and
answers are issued. Recently, interviews are being made through new
technology where the interviewer and interviewee do not come physically face-to-
face.
 A survey is a sequence of interrelated questions with the purpose of getting
specific data from a particular group of people. Like interview, survey is also
conducted through many ways.
A field research is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library or
workplace setting. It involves a range of well-defined, although variable, methods:
informal interviews, direct observation, participation in the life of the group,
collective discussions, analysis of personal documents produced within the
group, self-analysis, results from activities undertaken off- or on-line, and life
histories. (Wikipedia, 2020)

4. Photographs and posters

Photographs and posters are under the category of primary sources

because they can depict past events as they occurred and people as they were
at a given time.

5. Works of art and literature

An artwork traditionally is a creation like sculpture or painting that is made

as a thing of beauty in itself. While artists create artwork for art sake or no
practical function, some artworks expresses symbolic meaning. There are many
forms of art like painting, drawing and literature.
Paintings are visual art which use paint or ink on a canvass, wooden
panels or walls, to illustrate an artist’s rendering of a scene or even of an abstract
image.
Drawing is a visual art produced by artists using drawing instruments like
pen and ink to mark paper or any two-dimensional medium.
Literature is a body of written works which include satire, poetry and
prose identified by the intentions of their author and the perceived aesthetic
excellence of their execution.

6. Speeches and oral histories

A speech is a form of communication in spoken language, made by a

speaker before an audience for a given purpose.

Typology of Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are materials created by someone who has no participation

in the event being described. Examples of secondary sources are found below.

1. Bibliographies
 A bibliography is a complete or selective list of work materials that are
used or consulted in the preparation of a work or that are referred to in the text.
(Dictionary.com, 2020)

2. Biographical Accounts

Biography, form of literature, commonly considered nonfictional, the

subject of which is the life of an individual. One of the oldest forms of literary
expression, it seeks to re-create in words the life of a human being—as
understood from the historical or personal perspective of the author—by drawing
upon all available evidence, including that retained in memory as well as written,
oral, and pictorial material. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020)

3. Periodicals

Newspapers, magazines, and journals are periodicals. Some periodicals

are in print, in electronic, or in both forms.
A newspaper is a publication issued at regular and usually close
intervals, especially daily or weekly, and commonly containing news,
comment, features, and advertising. (Dictionary.com, 2020)
Magazines and journals are a little bit different as they may be
published monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. They are printed in a
better and more colorful paper than newspaper.

4. Film review and book review

A film review is one way of assessing a film’s overall quality and

determine whether or not it is worth recommending. A book review is a critique
on the book based on its content, style, and merit.