Type of Source | Value | Limitations |
Primary sources (in general) |
- Provides first-hand knowledge of the events/topic
- Gives a ‘snapshot’ of opinion at the time
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- Often too wrapped up in their moment, so authors often miss the ‘big picture’ of their situations
- Sometimes subject to censorship
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Private letters, diaries and memoirs |
- Can provide an intimate glimpse into the effects of historical events and the lives of individuals experiencing them first-hand
- If the source was never intended to be read by a larger audience, its contents may be of a more candid and revealing nature
- Valuable as a study of the personality by whom it was written
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- If the document was intended for disclosure, it runs the risk of being an apology, contrived to justify or defend the author’s opinions or actions/inactions
- Such personal documents are inherently limited in their scope in that they present only one viewpoint/one interpretation of what happened
- Inevitably biased – moulded by the opinions, prejudices and cultural standpoint of the author (must be read critically)
- If the document is a result of recollections many years after the period described, the details might have become blurred with the passing of time, certain aspects consciously or subconsciously forgotten, and memoirs moulded to conform to views that have evolved since then (eg. benefit of hindsight)
- Selective in nature – what is excluded?
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Poems and novels |
- Can provide an interesting perspective into the spirit and culture of the time in which it was written
- Can chronicle the experiences and feelings of specific individuals living through a period of history, providing a focused and personal portrait of a time
- Often offer an emotional appeal, allowing the reader to identify more closely with circumstances/individuals of a time
- Can provide information on a certain period of history in a more easily digestible format through engaging the interest of the reader
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- Often not solely concerned with providing a factual account – a certain degree of imagination and creative license involved, and therefore, perhaps not as useful as a factual account of history
- Inevitably ‘flavoured’ by the biases of the creator
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Drawings, paintings and cartoons |
- Can effectively capture the spirit of a time, and the opinions and sentiments generally characterising that time
- Contain evidence about a culture at specific moments in history – its customs, styles, preferences, atmosphere, architecture, manner of dress, appearance, etc.
- Examples of art styles of the time
- Comment on the feature of a regime
- Can show how people viewed certain things during this time
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- Produced by an artist with a definite point of view, and therefore inevitably biased, being influenced by the opinions and prejudices of the creator which are more clearly shown in a visual medium
- Limited scope – generally highlights one specific aspect of a period of history
- Artist not generally concerned with providing a factual account of a historical event or circumstance, but rather with producing a creative piece of work or expressing own opinions and emotional reactions
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Photographs and film |
- Can capture moments in history in vivid detail, providing a unique glimpse into a point in time
- Examples of propaganda
- Can show aspects of the culture – ie. Dress
- Reflections of attitudes/trends in filmmaking at a specific time
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- Behind every photograph or film is a creator with their own personal biases and prejudices, which may be reflected in a work, either consciously or subconsciously
- Can be manipulated by the creator to convey a certain point or impress upon the viewer his/her own conceptions. Eg: parts can be edited or cut out, certain details overemphasised, excluded/downplayed, certain details can be accentuated or focused on, photographs and films are often posed
- The creator ultimately holds the power to decide the impression expected to be conveyed by the audience upon viewing the photograph/film
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Newspapers |
- Can provide an indication of the nature of a society and on specific aspects of its culture
- Can provide a daily record of events occurring in history (albeit perhaps a limited one)
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- A product of the societies in which they are produced, and therefore offering only a limited perspective.
- In a dictatorship, certain details suppressed to preserve the legitimacy of the authority of the government in power (ie. Censorship of the media)
- A newspaper might be primarily an instrument of propaganda / commercial and/or political motives
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Statistics |
- Provide raw factual evidence of historical trends (provided they are reliable)
- Gen erally open to interpretation, free of the potent influence of personal and cultural biases (provided they have not been manipulated)
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- Can be manipulated, for example, by a government’s wishing to corroborate claims or present themselves in a favourable light, and their accuracy must therefore be questioned
- Might represent only a limited sampling, not representative of the general population
- Always produced for a specific purpose
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Government records |
- If never intended for disclosure, might provide a candid glimpse into the inner workings of the government
- Purely factual, solid, reliable
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- If their disclosure was anticipated, could have been manipulated, perhaps to conceal scandalous happenings of illegal manoeuvrings, or to maintain the image of the government concerned
- Only what the government allows the public to know
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Oral history (interviews with participants in historical events) |
- Provides a means of learning about the past from individual first-hand knowledge of historical events
- Provides important historical evidence about people, especially minority groups, who might have been excluded from mainstream publication or didn’t leave behind written primary sources
- A means of preserving details of historical legacies that might not have been included in written accounts
- Opinions held by people who experienced a period of history
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- If the story is being recounted a significant time after the period of history under scrutiny, details might have become confused over the passage of time or faded entirely from memory, and traumatic experienced might have been deliberately forgotten – accuracy must be questioned
- Experiences in the present might influence accounts of the past, and a person with the benefit of hindsight might be compelled to reassess events and reconstruct their memories accordingly
- Personal opinions and cultural backgrounds must be taken into account in interpreting the information conveyed, as well as their motives in sharing memories – the individual may feel more compelled to justify their actions/inactions and perspective than to paint a balanced account of the events
- Highly subjective
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Secondary sources (in general) |
- Can provide the clarity that comes with hindsight
- Due to distance from events, can be more objectively written and referenced
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- Often provide a narrow depth of study or superficial overview of a topic or event
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