OVERVIEWOne of the most important skills of historians is the ability to evaluate and analyze primary and secondary sources for this course and future courses. This assignment focuses on this skill as
P/S Worksheet
| Evaluative question | Primary Source Title | Secondary Source title |
| Who was the author? (Not the editor or the translator) | ||
| Who is the audience? Be Specific. This is never ALL people. | ||
| What type of document is it? (*More than a primary or secondary source. i.e. autobiography, letter, law, etc.) | ||
| What is the subject or author’s thesis? | ||
| What was the author’s motive for writing the source? | ||
| Does the author have an obvious bias? (*Note that all authors have biases, but not all are obvious.) What is the bias? | ||
| Where was the document written? How does this influence what is written? | ||
| When was the document written? | ||
| What was the effect of the source on history? | ||
| What was the historical context of the document? What was going on at the time that might have influenced the author’s opinions? How did the source affect your view of the topic or event, if a secondary source? | ||
| Why was the document written? (*You may have to infer this by reading between the lines or doing further research.) | ||
| Is the document credible? Why or why not? (*See how to determine reliability or credibility in Module 3’s Research Assignment.) |
