Lesson 2

 Historical Methodology comprises certain

techniques and rules that historians follow in
order to properly utilize sources and historical
evidences in writing history.

Objects from the past

are called
Artefacts
Historical Criticisms
• Internal Criticism
• External Criticism – looks at the truthfulness and
factuality of the evidence by
– Verification of authenticity by
looking at the author of the
examining physical
source, its context, the agenda
characteristics; consistency
behind its creation, the
with the historical
knowledge which informed it,
characteristics of the time
and its intended purpose
when it was produced;
materials used. – It looks at the content of the
source examines the
– We can ask the following
circumstance of its production.
questions:
We can ask the following
• When was it written? questions:
• Where was it written? • Was it written by
• Who was the real author? eyewitness or secondhand
• Why did it survive? account (author)?
• What were the materials • Why was it written
used? • Is there consistency?
Is your object a Primary of Secondary source?

• Sources which come directly from the

past, giving first-hand information are
known as Primary Sources.

• Secondary sources are evidence that

comes from a later date. They are
written after the event.
Sources:
• Secondary

• Primary
Secondary Sources
• Secondary sources are evidence
that comes from a later date. They
are written after the event.

• A textbook is a secondary source as

it was written long after most of the
events that it describes
Can you think of other
examples of secondary sources?
• Biography
• Movies
• TV or radio documentary
• Internet
• History books
–(Many secondary sources are put
together using many different
primary sources)
Where do we find sources?

Libraries Archives Museums

• Historians will use as many
sources as possible and then
compare what they have
found. Why?
–This is to make sure that the
story of the past is as
accurate as possible.
–This is called cross-
checking
Why Use Primary Sources?
Advantages
 Primary sources provide a window into the
past—
 unfiltered access to the record of artistic,
social, scientific and political thought and
achievement during the specific period
under study,
 produced by people who lived during that
period these unique, often profoundly
personal, documents and objects
 can give a very real sense of what it was like
to be alive during a long-past era.
Primary Source Disadvantages
 Questions of creator bias, purpose, and
point of view may challenge students’
assumptions.
 Primary sources are often incomplete and
have little context. Students must use prior
knowledge and work with multiple
primary sources to find patterns
 In analyzing primary sources, students
move from concrete observations and
facts to questioning and making
inferences about the materials.
Why Use Secondary Sources?
Advantages
 provide analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or
evaluation of the original information.
 are best for uncovering background or
historical information about a topic and
broadening your understanding of a topic by
exposing you to others’ perspectives,
interpretations, and conclusions.
 allows the reader to get expert views of events
and often bring together multiple primary
sources relevant to the subject matter.
Secondary Source
Disadvantages
 Their reliability and validity are open to
question, and often they do not provide
exact information
 They do not represent first hand
knowledge of a subject or event
 There are countless books, journals,
magazine articles and web pages that
attempt to interpret the past and
finding good secondary sources can be
an issue
Historiography history of all history
 Historiography is the history of history
 Historians are like detectives who gather
information or evidence to put together the story of
the past.
 They gather evidence from different sources
e.g. archaeological digs, manuscripts or search
the internet
 Tasks:
 Determine the credibility and motives of the
author/ source--- genuine or authentic
 Discover the patterns and trends that
governs the behaviour of the people,
 Make generalization
 Role of the Historian
To look at the available historical sources and
select the most relevant and meaningful for
history and for the subject matter that he is
studying
To organize the past that is being created so that it
can offer lessons for nations, societies and
civilization
To seek for the meaning of recovering the past to
let the people see the continuing relevance of
provenance, memory, remembering and historical
understanding for both the present and the future.
How do historians judge the
reliability of sources?
a) Bias – This means that the writer may
have a strong , personal opinion about
an event and tries to show that their
opinion is right.
b) Accurate – this means correct or exact.
c) Prejudice – is where writers have made
up their minds in advance and present
only their own point of view
d) Exaggerates –this is when a writer
makes something seem greater than it
really is.
e) Propaganda – is where writers are trying
to win the reader over to their point of
view using posters, radio, tv and
speeches
How do Historians put events in order?
• When historians find out
information about the past, it is
important to get events in the
right order.
–They usually use dates.
• This makes it easier for people to
follow the story of what
happened.
• This is called chronological order.
There are number of ways
historians measure time to
describe past events.
Timeline in History:
1. Circa, usually abbreviated c. or
ca., means "approximately" in English, Italian and
Slovak, usually referring to a date.
 Circa is widely used in genealogy and
historical writing when the dates of events are
not precisely known
2. A.D. = C.E
3. B.C. = B.C.E
4. Decade
5. Century
6. Periods or Ages
7. Millennium
Individual Task/Activity
• Identify an object in your respective
home/house that represents something from
the past, and that is important to you.
• Identify if it is a primary or secondary source.
• Draw/capture the object identified.
• Briefly in 2 paragraphs explain what exactly this
object represents about your past.
• Rubrics (30 POINTS)
 Artistry/ Creativity 15 POINTS
 Application of 15 POINTS
knowledge learned