Questions for
Analyzing Primary Sources
NOTE: This information is reproduced from the Library of Congress Learning
Page website.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/psources/studqsts.html
The following questions may help you judge the quality of primary
sources:
- Who created the source and why? Was it created through a spur-of-the-moment
act, a routine transaction, or a thoughtful, deliberate process?
- Did the recorder have firsthand knowledge of the event? Or, did
the recorder report what others saw and heard?
- Was the recorder a neutral party, or did the creator have opinions
or interests that might have influenced what was recorded?
- Did the recorder produce the source for personal use, for one
or more individuals, or for a large audience?
- Was the source meant to be public or private?
- Did the recorder wish to inform or persuade others? (Check the
words in the source. The words may tell you whether the recorder
was trying
to be objective or persuasive.) Did the recorder have reasons
to be honest or dishonest?
- Was the information recorded during the event, immediately after
the event, or after some lapse of time? How large a lapse of
time?
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