Value

and
Limitations

HARWOOD 2022 ORIGINAL NOTES BY MACAULEY

& CLAGGETT 2022
 Introduction

You will often be asked to assess the Value and Limitations of a source in
understanding an historical event.

All sources you are presented with by your teacher on in exams will have some value, that’s
why it was chosen, but in doing research of you own, especially on the internet, some sources
may have very little value. We may also see value referred to as usefulness.

Despite the value a source may have it will usually also have some limitations.
 • What Type of Source is it? The type of
source can provide its own value and
limitations.

• What is the Origin and Context of the

Source? The person who created the
Focus questions: source may have their own motivations or
a particular audience in mind, will have a
unique perspective, and may be unreliable.

• Is the Content valuable or relevant?

Source Type examples
Private letters, diaries, memoirs, autobiographies.
VAL UE
A first hand account can show a unique
perspective. Can show insight into the
author. A personal account such as a letter or
diary might give insight into emotions of the
time that other types of sources may neglect.
Can show genuine attitudes towards events,
as distinct from other types of sources such
as government records.
LIMITATION S
This kind of source is necessarily one-sided
and is a personal interpretation of an event.
The author may have inherent bias, such as a
soldier in a war. May hay been written with a
view to personal glory and may leave out
anything that reflects negatively on the
author. If not written directly during the
event, may suffer from poor memory.
Drawings, paintings, cartoons
VAL UE
Captures political commentary and opinions
of events and people. Can show artistic
styles. Designed to capture attention.
LIMITATION S
Contains the artist’s possibly biased point of
view and expresses the artist’s own feelings.
Created for visual impact rather than factual
evidence. Limited amount of evidence in one
piece of visual evidence.
Photographs/Film
VAL UE
Captures a precise moment in time. Shows
life as it was including fashion and styles in
clothing, haircuts, architecture. Can show
details of a scene missed by a painting,
sketches, or cartoons. Also may show film
making techniques of the time.
LIMITATION S
Film maker or photographer chooses the
images and framing according to their own
bias. Film and photographs can be altered or
manipulated. Details can be framed in or
outside of the camera lens according to the
motives of the creator.
Newspapers
VAL UE
Provides a current view of events at the time.
Usually contains a great deal of fact along
with opinion. A variety of different types of
source including headlines, photographs with
captions, journalism, letters, infographics.
LIMITATION S
All newspapers have agendas, it may be
influenced by the owners of the newspaper,
the sponsors of the newspaper, or in an
undemocratic society, controlled by the
government as propaganda. Newspapers are
often nationalistic, patriotic, or biased.
Statistics
VAL UE LIMITATION S
Generally provide factual evidence. May be manipulated by governments or
Dispassionate and usually uninfluenced by corporations and therefore unreliable.
bias, or governments. Sample size of surveys or polls may be small
or unrepresentative.
Government Records
VAL UE
Can explain the workings of a government.
Usually factual and reliable.
LIMITATION S
May be manipulated. Certain records may
have been destroyed leaving an incomplete
picture. Only show what the government
wants to be made public.
Interviews and Oral History
VAL UE LIMITATION S
This kind of source is necessarily one-sided

Gives eye-witness knowledge of events. Can and is a personal interpretation of an event.

be more inclusive of indigenous stories than The author may have inherent bias, such as a

written records. soldier in a war. May be speaking with a view

to personal glory and may leave out anything
that reflects negatively. If not interviewed
directly after the event, may suffer from poor
memory.
Secondary Sources; Historians
VAL UE
Written with the benefit of hindsight and
historical reflection. Written using access to a
range of primary sources as well as the work
of other historians. Can be peer reviewed so
are usually accurate, fact based, and reliable.
LIMITATION S
Historians have their own interests and
biases when constructing history, so while
accurate, may be too narrow a focus to be
useful, or too broad. Occasional authors are
unreliable (David Irving etc)
Origins and Context
 Where the source comes from, and the events surrounding the
creation of the source will influence whether a source has value, and
what its limitations are.

The date, what events are

Things to consider about
Origins and Context include:
The place of the source. e.g.
occurring, or have just
a trench, a concentration
occurred. e.g. 1914, 1939
camp, a political meeting
war things

Why the source was created

Who the author is. Are they (motive/purpose). For What the author’s attitude
biased, a politician, a propaganda, to educate, to towards the event is. e.g. pro
propaganda minister? express feelings, the report war, racist, anti-slavery
news?