Primary Source Literacy Guidelines Flashcards

Flashcards generated from lecture notes on Primary Source Literacy Guidelines.

What is the main focus of the Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy?

Articulating the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to effectively use primary sources.

What do primary sources offer to users according to the guidelines?

Compelling, direct evidence of human activity, providing a unique perspective and opportunities for original research and critical thinking skills development.

Define primary source literacy.

The knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, and ethically use primary sources within specific disciplinary contexts to create new knowledge or revise existing understandings.

Why is defining 'primary source' considered problematic?

The concept relies on the research question, varies by discipline, depends on interplay with secondary sources, and is subject to researchers' interpretive processes.

What are the Core Ideas underlying successful work with primary sources as identified in the guidelines?

Analytical Concepts, Ethical Concepts, Theoretical Concepts, and Practical Considerations.

What do Analytical Concepts in primary source literacy involve?

Activating primary sources through hypothesis, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, critical thinking, and evaluation, considering materiality, historical context, and narrative.

What do Ethical Concepts in primary source literacy emphasize?

Understanding laws, regulations, privacy rights, cultural context, donor agreements, copyright, and intellectual property, and responsibly considering the impact of scholarship.

What Theoretical Concepts underpin primary source literacy?

Concepts like evidence, authority, power, authenticity, context, materiality, historical empathy, agency, value, absences, and privilege.

What Practical Considerations are important for primary source literacy?

Skills in finding, accessing, gathering, and handling primary sources in various formats and locations, understanding accessibility, procedures, terminology, and data management strategies.

Name three Learning Objectives related to using primary sources.

Conceptualize, Find and Access, Read/Understand/Summarize, Interpret/Analyze/Evaluate, Use and Incorporate

What are some factors that may limit the sources available for research?

Historical records may never have existed, may not have survived, or may not be collected and/or publicly accessible; existing records may have been shaped by the selectivity and mediation of individuals.

What does examining a primary source entail?

The ability to read a particular script, font, or language, to understand or operate a particular technology, or to comprehend vocabulary, syntax, and communication norms of the time period and location where the source was created.

What are some aspects for critically evaluating the perspective of a primary source creator?

Tone, subjectivity, and biases, and consider how these relate to the original purpose(s) and audience(s) of the source.

What should be considered when using primary sources?

Privacy rights, cultural contexts, appropriate citation style guidelines, repository practice and preferences, copyright and privacy laws.

Define 'Access' in the context of primary sources.

The means of examining, retrieving, or obtaining primary sources for use, which can be affected by preservation, security, privacy, legal constraints, or geographic location.

Define 'Agency' in the context of primary sources.

Possessing the ability to act, which is deeply enmeshed in power relationships; also refers to the actions of librarians and archivists in collecting, arranging, and describing materials.

Define 'Authority' in the context of primary sources.

Refers to the relative credibility and expertise of the creator(s) of a source, or the authority to preserve, collect, access, and use/reuse the source.

Define 'Authenticity' in the context of primary sources.

Closely associated with the creator(s) of a source; usually presumed, but if questioned can be verified by testing physical and stylistic characteristics.

Define 'Bias' in the context of primary sources.

A prejudice in favor of one thing or person over another, which may be implicit rather than obvious, reflecting unconscious or unintentional preferences.

Define 'Collection' in the context of primary sources.

A group of materials with some unifying characteristic, often related to the topic, the creator, or the assembler.

Define 'Copy/Surrogate' in the context of primary sources.

A facsimile, reproduction, or duplicate made from an original, often digital, created to serve as a substitute for an original source to preserve it from overuse.

Define 'Copyright'.

A legal right granting exclusive rights for use, reproduction, publication, adaptation, performance, and/or distribution of an original work for a limited period.

Define 'Cultural understanding'.

The ability to understand the viewpoint of those from other cultures, whether in the present or past, and to understand shared or conflicted history.

Define 'Database'.

A structured way to store and retrieve data.

Define 'Evidence'.

Primary sources serve as evidence used in answering a research question, proving or disproving a fact, or developing an argument.

Define 'Fair Use'.

Permissible use of copyrighted material. Includes criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and parody.

Define 'Finding Aid'.

A description of papers, records, or a manuscript collection that provides information about the materials, including arrangement and organization, historical or biographical background, a summary of the contents of a collection, and location of materials.

Define 'Format'.

The container or method of presentation of a source.

Define 'Historical empathy'.

The ability to appreciate the beliefs, values, and intentions of historical actors.

Define 'Iterative process'.

All research is a repetitive cycle, requiring frequent returns to and revisions of earlier questions and assumptions, thus leading to new readings of texts and sources and new lines of inquiry.

Define 'Literacy'.

Competency, knowledge, or skills in a specified area.

Define 'Materiality'.

The physical nature or format of a source.

Define 'Mediation'.

The amount of intervention and contextualization between the user and the source.

Define 'Permissions'.

If a particular use of a copyrighted work is not covered by fair use, a researcher may require authorization from the rights holders in order to use the work in certain ways

Define 'Preservation'.

The act of keeping objects from harm, injury, decay, or destruction.

Define 'Primary Source'.

Primary sources are materials in a variety of formats, created at the time under study, that serve as original evidence documenting a time period, event, people, idea, or work.

Define 'Privacy'.

Librarians, archivists, and researchers need to be aware of various legal and ethical frameworks regarding privacy.

Define 'Repository'.

Umbrella term referring to a cultural heritage organization that collects, preserves, and makes collections accessible, generally for research.

Define 'Research Project'.

Research projects may be scholarly, creative, or professional in nature.

Define 'Research Question'.

An idea or inquiry which drives a research project.

Define 'Secondary Source'.

A work synthesizing and/or commenting on primary and/or other secondary sources.

Define 'Silences'.

Gaps or missing pieces in the historical record, often caused by those who were unable to write their own records, or whose records were not considered valuable or were suppressed by the dominant culture.

Define 'Source'.

A place where information is found, such as a document, book, or encyclopedia.

Define 'Special Collections/Archives'.

A general term for a department, unit, library, or other physical place which stores and provides secure access to rare and unique materials, including archives, manuscripts, rare books, or other original materials.