Start Page
Basic Resources
Worksheets
Elementary
Links to Sources
Learn More
Analysis of
Sources
Types of Sources
Lesson Framework
NYS Standards
NYS Skills
State Standards
State Testing
Document Based
Constructed Response
Thematic Essay |
|
Published
Documents | Unpublished Documents
Oral Traditions/Histories | Visual
Documents/Artifacts | Unpublished Documents
Oral Traditions/Histories | Visual
Documents/Artifacts
When analyzing primary sources, historians consider the
type of primary source under study. Different primary sources were created for different
reasons. Knowing the different types of primary sources will help you evaluate the
reliability of primary sources. Read about the different types of primary sources below.
Primary and Secondary Sources
Historians use a wide variety of sources to answer questions about
the past. In their research, history scholars use both primary sources and secondary
sources. Primary sources are actual records that have survived from the past, such
as letters, photographs, articles of clothing. Secondary sources are accounts of the past
created by people writing about events sometime after they happened.
For example, your history textbook is a secondary source.
Someone wrote most of your textbook long after historical events took place. Your textbook
may also include some primary sources, such as direct quotes from people living
in the past or excerpts from historical documents.
People living in the past left many clues about their lives. These
clues include both primary and secondary sources in the form of books, personal papers,
government documents, letters, oral accounts, diaries, maps, photographs, reports, novels
and short stories, artifacts, coins, stamps, and many other things. Historians call all of
these clues together the historical record.
Top of Page
Some primary sources are published documents. They were created for
large audiences and were distributed widely. Published documents include books, magazines,
newspapers, government documents, non-government reports, literature of all kinds,
advertisements, maps, pamphlets, posters, laws, and court decisions.
When reviewing published documents, remember that just because
something was published does not make it truthful, accurate, or reliable. Every document
has a creator, and every creator has a point of view, blind spots, and biases. Also
remember that even biased and opinionated sources can tell us important things about the
past.
Top of Page
Unpublished Documents
Many types of unpublished documents have been saved, and can be used
as primary sources. These include personal letters, diaries, journals, wills, deeds,
family Bibles containing family histories, school report cards, and many other sources.
Unpublished business records such as correspondence, financial ledgers, information about
customers, board meeting minutes, and research and development files also give clues about
the past.
Unpublished documents often come from community organizations,
churches, service clubs, political parties, and labor unions in the form of membership
lists, meeting minutes, speeches, financial and other records. Government at all levels
creates a variety of unpublished records. These include police and court records, census
records, tax and voter lists, departmental reports, and classified documents.
Unlike published documents, unpublished records may
be difficult to find because few copies exist. For example, personal letters may be found
only in the possession of the person to whom the letters were sent. Letters of famous or
remarkable people may be collected and eventually published. Keep in mind that letter
writers did not intend (and perhaps could not imagine) that their letters would be read by
more than one person. Because unpublished documents were seldom meant to be read by the
public, they provide interesting clues about the past.
Top of Page
Oral Traditions/Oral Histories
Oral traditions and oral histories provide another way to learn
about the past from people with firsthand knowledge of historical events. Recently, spoken
words that make up oral histories have gained importance as primary sources. Historians
and others find out about the lives of ordinary people through spoken stories and tales.
Oral histories provide important historical evidence about people, especially minority
groups, who were excluded from mainstream publications or did not leave behind written
primary sources.
Oral histories are as old as human beings. Before the invention of
writing, information passed from generation to generation through the spoken word. Many
people around the world continue to use oral traditions to pass along knowledge and
wisdom. Interviews and recordings of community elders and witnesses to historical events
provide exciting stories, anecdotes, and other information about the past.
Top of Page
Visual Documents and Artifacts
Visual documents include photographs, films, paintings, and other
types of artwork. Because visual documents capture moments in time, they can provide
evidence of changes over time. Visual documents include evidence about a culture at
specific moments in history: its customs, preferences, styles, special occasions, work,
and play.
Like other primary source documents, a visual document has a creator
with a point of view -- such as a painter, sculptor, or film maker. Even photographs were
created by photographers using film and cameras to create desired effects.
Think about the creator's point of view when you review visual
documents. What was the creator's purpose? Why this pose? Why that perspective? Why that
framing? Why this distance? Why this subject? What was included? What was excluded? Using
visual documents as primary sources requires careful analysis of the content and the point
of view of the creator.
Top of Page |