Historical Sources

Geronimo R. Rosario
Topics
 Historical Methodology
 Historical Sources
 Primary Sources
 Secondary Sources
 Tertiary Sources
 Criticism of Data
 Evaluation of Primary and Secondary Sources
Learning Objcetives
 After studying this lesson, the student should be able to:
 Differentiate primary sources from secondary and

tertiary sources
 Create a Venn diagram for Primary and Secondary

Sources
 Identify examples of primary and secondary sources
 Discuss the criteria for evaluating primary and

secondary sources
 Analyze some historical documents published in the

Philippines.
  
Historical Methodology
 Historical Methodology. It comprises certain
techniques and rules that historians follow in order
to properly utilize sources and historical evidences
in writing history.
  
 Apply certain rules to treat conflicting accounts

from different sources and come up with a more

objective meaningful history.
Three major steps in historical
research
 Collection of data through primary and secondary
sources.
 Criticism of the data, including the internal and

external examination.
 Presentation of facts in a readable form involving

problems of organization, composition, exposition

and interpretation
Historical source
 Historical source (also known as historical
material or historical data) is original source that
contain important historical information.

 These sources are something that inform us about

history at the most basic level and these sources
used as clues in order to study history.
Classification of Historical Sources
 Primary Sources
 Secondary Sources
 Tertiary Sources
Primary Sources
 Primary Sources are considered as
contemporary accounts of an event, personally
written or narrated by an individual who directly
experienced or participated in the said event.
Examples of Primary sources
 Diaries
 Letters
 Interviews
 oral histories
 photographs
 newspaper articles
 government documents
 poems
 novels
Examples of Primary sources
 plays
 music
 Autobiographies
 Event programs and brochures
 Film or TV news from time period
 Clothing and other artifacts
 Maps
 Family scrapbooks
 Yearbooks
Secondary Sources
 Secondary Sources serve as interpretations or
readings of primary sources.

 The author usually incorporates his insights and

interpretations thus detaching the original value of
the component of the study
Examples of Secondary sources
 books
 articles
 websites
 biographies
 documentaries
Tertiary sources
 Tertiary sources of information are based on a
collection of primary and secondary sources.
  
Examples of tertiary sources

 textbooks (sometimes considered as secondary

sources)
 dictionaries and encyclopedias
 manuals, guidebooks, directories, almanacs
 indexes and bibliographies
When sources can be both classified as
primary and secondary
 Intellectual history topics.

 For example, although scholarly journal articles are

usually considered secondary sources, if one's topic
is the history of human rights, then journal articles
on human rights will be primary sources in this
instance. 

 Similarly, research on the thinking of a scholar will

include his published journal articles as primary
sources.
When sources can be both classified as
primary and secondary
 Historical topics.

 Magazine articles are secondary sources, but for

someone researching the view of judicial
punishment in the 1920s, magazines from that
time period are primary sources. 

 Indeed, any older publication, such as those prior

to the 20th century, is very often automatically
considered a primary source.
When sources can be both classified as
primary and secondary
 Newspapers may be either primary or secondary.
Most articles in newspapers are secondary, but
reporters may be considered as witnesses to an
event. 
 Any topic on the media coverage of an event or
phenomenon would treat newspapers as a primary
source. 
 There are so many articles and types of articles in
newspapers that newspapers can often be
considered either primary or secondary.
When sources can be both classified as
primary and secondary
 The following could be both primary and
secondary depending on the context and use.
  
 Photographs
 Paintings
 Movies
 Posters
 Oral histories
Venn Diagram of Primary and
Secondary Sources
PRIMARY SOURCES SECONDARY SOURCES

First hand account

of the story Based on primary sources

Contemporary Bias

Author Broad understanding

Very Specific matters

Audience
Can give context to
In-depth matters
make sense of primary
sources
Evidence to support
the argument
Criticism of Data
 Historian must conduct an external and internal
criticisms to avoid deception and come up with
historical truth.

 External criticism is the practice of verifying

the authenticity of evidence by examining the
physical characteristics; consistency with the
historical characteristic of the time when it
was produced, and the materials used for the
evidence.
Criticism of Data
 Internal criticism is the examination of the
truthfulness and factuality of the evidence.
 It looks at the content of the source and

examines the circumstance of its production.

 It could be done by looking at the author, its

context, agenda, the purpose behind its

creation.
External and Internal Criticisms

Authenticity Credibility
Evaluation of Primary and Secondary
Sources
 Most scholars use the following questions to
evaluate the validity and credibility of sources
of historical accounts.
 How did the author know about the given details?
Was the author present at the event? How soon
was the author was able to gather the details of the
vent?
 Where did the information come from? Is it a
personal experience, an eyewitness account or a
report made by another person?
 Did the author conclude based on a single source
or on many sources of evidence?
Evaluation of Primary and Secondary
Sources
 Direct questions may include the following;
  
 What is the source?
 Who created it?
 What was the creator’s intent?
 For whom it was created?
 When and where it was produced?
Six Points of Inquiries to Evaluate
Primary Sources (Garraghan, 1946)
 Date- When it was produced?
 Localization- Where did it originate:?
 Authorship- Who wrote it?
 Analysis- What pre-existing material served as

basis for its production?

 Integrity- What was its original form?
 Credibility- What is the evidential value of its

content?
Secondary sources must be used for the
following (Gottaschalk, 1969)
 Deriving the setting wherein the contemporary
evidence will fit in the grand narrative of history.
 Getting leads to other bibliographic data
 Acquiring quotations or citations from

contemporary or other sources

 Deriving interpretations with a view of testing and

improving them but not accepting them as outright

truth.
Secondary Sources from Indirect Witnesses:
Things to Consider (Gottaschalk, 1969)
 On whose primary testimony does the secondary
witness base his statements?
 Did the secondary witness accurately report the

primary testimony as a whole?

 If not, in what details did he accurately report the

primary testimony?
  
Oral tradition
 Oral tradition is information passed down through
the generations by word of mouth that is not
written down.
 This includes historical and cultural traditions,

literature and law.

Secondary Sources from Oral Tradition:
Things to Consider (Garraghan, 1946)
 Garraghan (1946) maintains that oral tradition may
be accepted if it satisfies either two "broad
conditions" or six "particular conditions", as follows:
 Broad conditions stated.

◦ The tradition should be supported by an unbroken series

of witnesses, reaching from the immediate and first
reporter of the fact to the living mediate witness from
whom we take it up, or to the one who was the first to
commit it to writing.
◦ There should be several parallel and independent series
of witnesses testifying to the fact in question.
Secondary Sources from Oral Tradition:
Things to Consider (Garraghan, 1946)
 Particular conditions formulated.
◦ The tradition must report a public event of importance,
such as would necessarily be known directly to a great
number of persons.
◦ The tradition must have been generally believed, at
least for a definite period of time.
◦ During that definite period it must have gone without
protest, even from persons interested in denying it.
Secondary Sources from Oral Tradition:
Things to Consider (Garraghan, 1946)
◦ The tradition must be one of relatively limited duration.
[Elsewhere, Garraghan suggests a maximum limit of
150 years, at least in cultures that excel in oral
remembrance.
◦ The critical spirit must have been sufficiently
developed while the tradition lasted, and the necessary
means of critical investigation must have been at hand.
◦ Critical-minded persons who would surely have
challenged the tradition — had they considered it false
—must have made no such challenge.
Three Preconditions before historical
source is considered (Howell and Prevenier,
2001)
 It must be comprehensible at the most basic level of
vocabulary, language and handwriting.
 It must be carefully located in accordance with place
and time. Its author, composer and writer and the
location where it was produced/published should n]be
noted for the checking of authenticity and accuracy.
 The authenticity of the source must always be
checked and counterchecked before being accepted
as a credible source in any historical findings. Subtle
details such as the quality of paper used, the ink or
the watermark of the parchment used and the way it
was encoded.
Cases of Forgery and Mislabeling in
the Philippines
 Ambeth Ocampo’s discovery of the alleged draft
of Jose Rizal’s third novel. The Makamisa. The
stack of writings was labelled Borrador del Noli Me
Tangere.
 Upon scrutinity, the novel was not connected to

the Noli Me Tangre and El Filibusterismo.

Cases of Forgery and Mislabeling in
the Philippines
 Roman Roque who forged the signature of Gen.
Urbano Lacuna that led to the captivity of Gen.
Emilio Aguinaldo.
 Roque also forged the signature of Jose Rizal in

the great retraction controversy.

Cases of Forgery and Mislabeling in
the Philippines
 The supposed autobiography of Josephine
Bracken written on February 22, 1897, which
asserts her marriage to Rizal under Catholic rites
was also forged.
 The penmanship of Bracken was entirely different

from the autobiography.

Seven Factors to consider in Evaluating
Internal Criteria (Howell and Prevenier,
2001)
 The genealogy of the document- refers to the
development of the document. The document may
be original, a copy or a copy of the copy.
 The genesis of the document- includes the

situations and the authorities during the

document’s production.
 The originality of the document- includes the

nature of the document whether it is an

eye/eyewitness account or merely passing of
existing information.
Seven Factors to consider in Evaluating
Internal Criteria (Howell and Prevenier,
2001)
 The interpretation of the document- pertains to
deducing meaning from the document.
 The authorial authority of the document- refers to
the relationship between the document’s subject
matter and its author.
 The competence of the observer-refers to the
author’s capabilities and qualifications to critically
comprehend and report information.
 The trustworthiness of the observer- refers to the
author’s integrity-whether he or she fabricates or
reports truthfully.