Source+Analysis

What are Primary Sources?
 Seattle Union Record February 3, 1919 || ===Published Documents===
 * Primary Sources** are the evidence left behind by **participants** or **observers**.
 * [[image:http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/communications/bi/sources/surheadline.jpg width="230" height="290"]]

Some primary sources are published documents. They were created for large audiences and were distributed widely. Published documents include books, magazines, newspapers, government documents, non-government reports, literature of all kinds, advertisements, maps, pamphlets, posters, laws, and court decisions. When reviewing published documents, remember that just because something was published does not make it truthful, accurate, or reliable. Every document has a creator, and every creator has a point of view, blind spots, and biases. Also remember that even biased and opinionated sources can tell us important things about the past. || Minutes January 29 and February 5, 1919 King County Central Labor Council Records, Acc. #1201, Box 8 UW Libraries || ===Unpublished Documents===
 * [[image:http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/communications/bi/sources/minutes.jpg link="http://www.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/STRIKES%21/minutes.html"]]

Many types of unpublished documents have been saved, and can be used as primary sources. These include personal letters, diaries, journals, wills, deeds, family Bibles containing family histories, school report cards, and many other sources. Unpublished business records such as correspondence, financial ledgers, information about customers, board meeting minutes, and research and development files also give clues about the past. Unpublished documents often come from community organizations, churches, service clubs, political parties, and labor unions in the form of membership lists, meeting minutes, speeches, financial and other records. Government at all levels creates a variety of unpublished records. These include police and court records, census records, tax and voter lists, departmental reports, and classified documents. || Poster Advertising Union Labor Candidates For President, 1888 USA www.corbis.com Image ID: IH156293 || ===Visual Documents and Artifacts===
 * [[image:http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/communications/bi/sources/presposter.jpg]]

Visual documents include photographs, films, paintings, and other types of artwork. Because visual documents capture moments in time, they can provide evidence of changes over time. Visual documents include evidence about a culture at specific moments in history: its customs, preferences, styles, special occasions, work, and play. Like other primary source documents, a visual document has a creator with a point of view -- such as a painter, sculptor, or film maker. Even photographs were created by photographers using film and cameras to create desired effects. || Anna Louise Strong Journalist and labor activist [|Photo Courtesy of the Seattle Times] || ===Oral Traditions/Oral Histories===
 * [[image:http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/communications/bi/sources/strong.jpg]]

Oral traditions and oral histories provide another way to learn about the past from people with firsthand knowledge of historical events. Recently, spoken words that make up oral histories have gained importance as primary sources. Historians and others find out about the lives of ordinary people through spoken stories and tales. Oral histories provide important historical evidence about people, especially minority groups, who were excluded from mainstream publications or did not leave behind written primary sources. Oral histories are as old as human beings. Before the invention of writing, information passed from generation to generation through the spoken word. Many people around the world continue to use oral traditions to pass along knowledge and wisdom. Interviews and recordings of community elders and witnesses to historical events provide exciting stories, anecdotes, and other information about the past. ||



Analysis of Primary Sources
The following questions may help you judge the quality of primary sources:
 * 1) Who created the source and why? Was it created through a spur-of-the-moment act, a routine transaction, or a thoughtful, deliberate process?
 * 2) Did the recorder have firsthand knowledge of the event? Or, did the recorder report what others saw and heard?
 * 3) Was the recorder a neutral party, or did the creator have opinions or interests that might have influenced what was recorded?
 * 4) Did the recorder produce the source for personal use, for one or more individuals, or for a large audience?
 * 5) Was the source meant to be public or private?
 * 6) Did the recorder wish to inform or persuade others? (Check the words in the source. The words may tell you whether the recorder was trying to be objective or persuasive.) Did the recorder have reasons to be honest or dishonest?
 * 7) Was the information recorded during the event, immediately after the event, or after some lapse of time? How large a lapse of time?

What are Secondary Sources?

 * Secondary Sources** are those that interpret or analyze historical events.


 * books (including textbooks and encyclopedias)
 * journal articles
 * newspaper articles
 * websites

Information adapted from: Library Research Using Primary Sources. Library, University of California, Berkeley. 6/00 http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/PrimarySources.html [] []