historical source criticism

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Dependency

Is the source a primary source or a secondary source? A primary source comes directly from someone who experienced the event, while a secondary source is based on other people's events and experiences.

Authentic

Is the source real/authentic? Is the information from the source true and reliable? Or is it fake and made up?

Dependency

Is the source a primary source or a secondary source? A primary source comes directly from someone who experienced the event, while a secondary source is based on other people's events and experiences.

Authentic

Is the source real/authentic? Is the information from the source true and reliable? Or is it fake and made up?

Time

Is the source from the same time as the event we are studying? The closer in time the source is, the more reliable it might be. If the source was written long after the event, it could have been influenced by other factors and might not give an accurate picture. For example, if a book about a historical battle is written 100 years later, it may have been altered to fit the time period in which it was written.

Tendency

Does the source try to influence how we view a historical event or historical person? It may be biased and not entirely reliable, for example by making a painting of Pharaoh more powerful than he really was. If the source just tells us the facts without influencing us, it is more reliable, for example by painting Pharaoh exactly as he looked.

Is the source trustworthy?

By going through the four source-critical questions, we can answer this question:

Relevant

Does this source answer my question? It does if it contains information that is useful and linked to the topic or event I am researching.

Remains

One type of historical source is human traces, such as skeletons.

Artifacts

A type of historical source, such as man-made tools, works of art, or buildings.

Narrative source

A type of historical source that describes the past, such as books, diaries or interviews.

The four source criticism questions

Dependence, Authenticity, Time, Tendency: used to assess the credibility of historical sources.