Please help and guide me how to interpret sources. I really have difficulty in doing it. PLus whenever it come to source where they ask you to interpret the source, find the differences and similarities, test the usefulness or reliabilty, I have difficulty finding the answer.
PLEASE HELP!!!!!!
ANXIOUS!!!!!!!
2007-01-29 20:19:12 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Evaluating sources is difficult, but very important, not only in the study of history, but in any other area of study. NEVER take any source at face value.
Each source has a purpose, a methodology, and a bias. It helps to try to know what they are for each source being considered.
Purpose - why was the source created?
Methodology - how was the source created, how was the information compiled?
Bias - what opinion is being expressed, what information is or is not likely to be contained in the source, what errors are likely?
Here is an example:
The US census:
Purpose - to find population figures for congressional apportionment
Methodology - until recently, a census taker went door to door, often this was some out of work person whose literacy was marginal; he had a table of data to fill in
Bias - depends on who answered the census taker's questions
Put this all together - census records are not 100% dependable, the data should be confirmed by other sources before it is taken too seriously, but, when confirmed, it contains some very rich information.
2007-01-29 21:09:30 · answer #1 · answered by sudonym x 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History
www.besthistorysites.net
www.history.ac.uk
You may try these sites
good luck
bye
2007-01-30 04:24:47 · answer #2 · answered by MORTİCİA 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋