Class Notes 1:3 Evaluating Evidence

Modern World History, by Dan McDowell. Teaching Point, ©2004

Creating a historical account

• Historians must take the historical record and develop an understanding of the event

• They utilize both primary and secondary resources

• Through careful comparison, analysis, and evaluation of the evidence, the historian creates an accurate portrayal of the event

Primary Resources

• Materials written or created during the period under investigation

• Without these resources, writing history would be impossible

• Examples include art, music, laws, letters, speeches, etc.

Secondary Resources

• Accounts of the past written by historians who use primary resources as evidence

• Examples include textbooks, lectures, essays, reviews, etc.

Evaluation

• Primary and secondary sources must be critically examined:o Is the author qualified to write on the

subject?

o Is the author biased?

o Did the author actually witness the event?

• Especially important today with the Internet!

What types of resources are the following?

• A 1960’s protest song on the radio

Your teacher telling you about WWI

• A diary entry by a child who lived during the Holocaust