Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

The National Engineering University
Alangilan Campus
Golden Country Homes, Alangilan Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines 4200
Tel Nos.: (+63 43) 425-0139 local 2121 / 2221
E-mail Address: ceafa@g.batstate-u.edu.ph | Website Address: http://www.batstate-u.edu.ph

College of Engineering - Department of Mechanical Engineering

READING IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

CONTENT AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF

PRIMARY SOURCES

CONTENT ANALYSIS

⬗ Content analysis is a research tool used to determine the presence of certain

words, themes, or concepts within the text.
⬗ Using content analysis, researchers can quantify and analyze the presence,
meanings and relationships of such certain words, themes, or concepts in such
texts.

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

⬗ Contextual analysis is an analysis that helps us to assess that text within the
context of its historical and cultural setting, but also in terms of its textuality
(the qualities that characterize the text as a text).
⬗ In other words, contextual analysis is: “situating” the text within the milieu of
its times and assessing the roles of author, readers (intended and actual), and
critics.

ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENT AND CONTEXT OF THE

PRIMARY SOURCES

BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

⬗ First the researcher must provide brief biographical sketch of the author or
creator of the primary source.
⬗ Family background, educational attainment, religion and many others shall be
given priority in presenting the biography of the author.
⬗ Special attention must also be given to the first four steps of the test of
credibility explained in the previous discussion.

BACKGROUND OF THE SOURCE

⬗ Basic background of the source shall be given attention, like the type of
primary source, how many parts or chapter, how long is the document.
⬗ Locate where the primary source can be found (provenance of the said
document) and the repository of the said sources.
⬗ Find the time of the creation of the source.
⬗ Determine the intended audience or the people the author wants to convey
their ideas with.
⬗ Look for the purpose or motive of the source by understanding the historical
context.
⬗ Do a background research and look at important historical event at the time
the source was made.
CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE IMPORTANT HISTORICAL INFORMATION
FOUND IN THE DOCUMENT

⬗ Look for corroboration. Look also if your source agrees with information from
another source. They may not use the exact same word or they can express
the same information in different ways and we can still use as corroboration.
⬗ Look for bias. There are two kinds of bias: either it is strongly positive (strongly
in favor of) or strongly negative (strongly against). If you’re looking for a bias
in written source, you’ll need to find word choices that are extreme in their
description.
⬗ Analyze the historical perspective (understanding a subject in light of its
earliest phases and subsequent evolution) or a point of view the author
describe such event. To accomplish this, do a background check of the author
with regards to his nationality, social status, political persuasion, cultural
background, religion or education.
⬗ Analyze the historical context of the document (social, religious, economic, and
political conditions that existed during a certain time and place) by looking at
when the source was made where was it created, what event occurred at the
time and then by reading the source to identify specific language.
⬗ Historical empathy knows the past without judging it by modern standards.

CONTRIBUTION AND RELEVANCE OF THE DOCUMENT IN

UNDERSTANDING THE GRAND NARRATIVE OF HISTORY

⬗ Look for the cause and consequences of the primary sources. A cause is a
person or thing that makes something happens while a consequence is a direct
result of the cause.
⬗ In this part of the analysis, look also for the turning point or dramatic moment
of change that was caused by the event or primary source.

RELEVANCE OF THE DOCUMENTS TO THE PRESENT TIME

⬗ Look for the historical significance or what modern people consider to be

important from the past. There are many events in our history we may choose
but few people, events or ideas to focus on. Since significance is a decision we
make, it means different people can decide different things are particularly the
most important.

⬗ How to determine significance of the event?

• Novelty or when something is new or never been seen before (Cory Aquino
became the first Female President of the Philippines).
• Applicability or when it is similar to the present (The Spanish Flu and
Covid-19).
• Memory or how it has been remembered over time (Typhoon Yolanda).
• Effect or how people have been affected (Taal Volcanic Eruption).

IDENTIFICATION OF THE HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF

THE TEXT

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

⬗ The process used to evaluate what was significant about selected events,
people, and development in the past.
CRITERIA ON ASSESSING THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

⬗ RELEVANCE
• Is it important to people living at the time?
• Is something still relevant to our present lives even if it had only a passing
importance?
⬗ RESONANCE
• Who have been affected by the event?
• Why was it important to them?
• How were people’s lives affected?

⬗ REMARKABLE
• Was the event remarked on by the people at the time or since?

⬗ REMEMBERED
• Was the event important at some stage within the collective memory of a
group or groups?

⬗ REVEALING
• Does it reveal some other aspects of the past?

⬗ RESULTING IN CHANGE
• Does it have consequences for the future?

⬗ DERABILITY
• For how long have people’s lives been affected? A day, a week, a year, or
all their lives?

⬗ QUANTITY
• How many people were affected? Did the event affect many, everyone, or
just a few? A whole barrio, a town, a province, a country, or the entire
race?

⬗ PROFUNDITY
• Was the event superficial or deeply affecting? How deeply people’s lives
were affected? How were people’s lives affected?

ISSUES ON ASSESSING HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

⬗ Our views about historical significance are often shaped by contemporary

contexts and can be dependent upon our own values, interests and knowledge.
⬗ Historical significance is how we define past events that the current writer of
history deems important.
⬗ Historical significance is relative and varies from location, generation, or
sometimes to ideological or political orientation of the evaluator.

LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE

⬗ NOT AT ALL SIGNIFICANT

• No one need to remember the event.
⬗ INDIVIDUALLY SIGNIFICANT
• Only the descendants and family of the people involved should know
about the event.
⬗ REGIONALLY SIGNIFICANT
• Every individual in the region or a specific group should know about the
event.
 ⬗ NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT
• Every citizen of the country should know about the said event.
⬗ GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT
• Everyone in the world should know the details about the event.

EXAMINATION OF THE AUTHOR’S POINT OF VIEW

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

⬗ The reason of the creation of the text.

⬗ The author’s purpose is his or her reason for, or intent in writing the text, a
line, a paragraph, an essay, a story, etc.

PURPOSE DEFINITION EXAMPLE

The author wants you to Advertisements, Campaign
TO PERSUADE
believe, do, or buy something Speeches, Persuasive Letters
Contracts, Law, Essays,
The author wants to give you
TO INFORM Articles, Instructions,
information or instructions
References, Letters, Textbooks
TO NARRATE The author wants to relate a History Texts, Non-fiction
story or recount past events. books, Biographies, Anecdotes
The author wants you to
TO DESCRIBE visualize or experience what
Stories, Poems, Drama, Songs
something or someone looks
like, or feels like.
The author wants to tell you Instructions, Directions, Step-
TO EXPLAIN
how to do something or how by-step Procedures, How-to-
something works. recipes, operations manual
TO The author wants to amuse
Novels, Stories, Poems,
ENTERTAIN you or for you to enjoy the
Drama, Songs
writing itself.
⬗ An important thing to take note of when you are determining the author’s
purpose is the genre you are reading. You can usually identify the purposes
correctly, if you are also able to understand the genre.

COMBINATION OF PURPOSES
⬗ Political cartoons can both inform and entertain.

⬗ Newspaper editorials can inform, entertain, and persuade.

 ⬗ Tv commercials might be very informative or very entertaining but its primary
purpose is to convince and persuade the viewers to eventually buy the product.

WHY IDENTIFY PURPOSE?

⬗ When you understand why a source was created, it helps you think critically
about what information is present, what information is missing, and what you
can expect to takeaway from the source.

⬗ As a reader, knowing the purposes or intent that the writer has for creating
the piece of work helps you evaluate it better.

IDENTIFYING THE PURPOSE

⬗ Step 1
• First, ask: “WHY DID THE AUTHOR CREATE/ WRITE THIS TEXT?”
⬗ Step 2
• If the author’s purpose isn’t obvious, ask: “HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?”
⬗ Step 3
• Look for clue words to find the author’s purpose.

⬗ Clue Words

• Compare: The author wants to show similarities between ideas (both,

similarly, in the same way, like, just as)

• Contrast: The author wants to show differences between ideas. (however,

but dissimilarly, on the other hand)

• Criticize: The author wants to give a negative opinion of an idea

(judgement words: “bad”, “wasteful”, “poor”)

• Identify: The author wants to tell the reader about an idea (text that
identifies or lists that will name an idea or series of ideas without providing
much description.)

• Intensify: The author wants to make an idea greater (text that intensifies
will add more specific details to the idea)

• Suggest: The author wants to propose an idea.

Prepared by:

___________________________
Mr. Gian Nicolo Dexter M. Atienza
Lecturer