CHAPTER 2
Analysis of Selected primary Sources
Introduction
What skills or competencies do history students need to develop? Students need
to develop several skills in studying history. Fundamentally, they must have the
competence in assessing evidences and evaluating conflicting interpretations. Because
historians use various evidences in shaping their historical accounts, it is imperative that
students learn how to sort out, interpret and weigh evidences. By critically examining
evidences and interpretations that are subjective and self-serving, they are able to identify
prejudices and biases in writing.
In this chapter, the following topics are to be discussed: content and contextual
analysis of selected primary sources; identification of the historical importance of the text;
and examination of the author’s main argument and point of view.
Learning outcomes:
a. Analyze the content, context and perspective of different kinds of primary sources;
b. Identify it’s historical viewpoint of text; and
c. Examine the author’s main argument and point of view.
How to analyze Primary Sources
Primary sources can be analyzed and evaluated by different criteria. These criteria
are the content analysis, context analysis and the authors main argument or point of view.
Content analysis is a research method for studying primary sources such as
documents and communication artifacts, which can be texts of various formats, pictures,
audio, or video. One of the key advantages of using content analysis to analyze social
phenomena is its non-invasive nature, in contrast to simulating social experiences or
collecting survey answer.
Nowadays, computers are increasingly used in content analysis to automate the
labeling (or coding) of documents. Simple computational techniques can provide
descriptive data such as word frequencies and document lengths.
According to Klaus Krippendorf, six questions must be address in every content
analysis:
1. Which data are analyzed?
2. How are the data defined?
3. From what population are the data drawn?
4. What is the most relevant context?
5. What is to be measured?
The simplest and most objective forms of doing content analysis are the
unambiguous characteristics of the text like word frequencies, the page are taken by the
newspaper column, or the duration of a radio or television program. Analysis of simple
word frequencies is limited because the meaning of a word depends on the surrounding
text. The keyword in context routines address this by placing words in their textual
context. This help resolve ambiguities such as those introduced by synonyms and
homonyms.
The second way of analyzing primary sources is the contextual analysis or simply
called textual analysis. Understanding the Historical context of a primary source is critical
for understanding the attitudes and influences that shaped the creation of the primary
source. If not placed into historical context, a primary source’s true meaning might be
interpreted.
Here are some specific questions to ask in analyzing primary sources:
1. What kind of document do you have? It is a treatise letter? A manuscript, or a printed
document?
2. Was it published? If yes, when and where?
3. Who is the author? What position, role, reputation, status, did the author have at the
time of writing?
4. Is the author well-known today or at the time of writing?
5. Who is the intended audience?
6. Who read this text at the time? What are the responses of those who read it?
7. What was to be gained and what were the risks in writing this text?
8. How is this document related to other primary documents known to you, particularly
from the same time period?
Be specific in answering these questions. A further step in the analysis of primary
sources is to examine the authors’ main argument or main point of view.
Understanding the author or writers underlying point of view will help you
interpret the context of his writing. It will also help you see why the author’s or writers
make the decisions they do.
The writer or author’s overall purpose determine the techniques he uses. His
reason for writing a particular book, letter, article, document, etc. may be manipulative
as in propaganda, or advertising or may be straightforward, as in informative writing.
Author’s Purpose
` The authors purpose is the REASON the source was created. It is her or his own
reason for or intent in writing a text, a line, a paragraph, an essay, a story, etc.
Purposes in Writing
Purpose Definition Example
To Persuade The authors wants you Advertisements, campaign
to believe, do, or buy speeches, persuasive letters,
something. opinion, etc.
This type of writing is
called persuasive
writing
To Inform The author wants to Documents,contracts,
give you information or agreements,rules,law,expository
instructions essays,encyclopaedias, reference
This type of writing is text, business letters,etc.
called
Expository writing.
To narrate The author wants to History texts, non- fiction books,
relate a story or recount biographies, anecdotes,
past events newspapers
This type of writing is
called Narrative
Writing
To describe The author wants you to Stories, poems, drama,songs,etc
visualize or experience
what something or
someone looks like,
sounds like, or feels like
To explain The author wants to tell The author wants to tell you how
you how to do to do something works.
something works. This type of writing falls under
This type of writing falls expository writing
under expository
writing
To entertainment The author wants to Novels, stories, poems,
amuse you or for you to drama,songs
enjoy the writing itself.
This type of writing falls
under creative writing
Historical Significance
Historical significance is the process used to evaluate what was significant about
selected events, people and developments in the past.
Historians use different sets of criteria to help them make judgements about
significance.
When considering historical significance we ask: What and who should be
remembered, researched and taught? Historians, authors and educators must
select what and whom to study, decide what details to include in their description s
and determine how important these events and people are in relation to other
aspects of the past.
Criteria on Assessing the Historical Significance of sources
1. Relevance- Is it important/ relevant to people living at the time?Is something
still relevant to our present lives even if it had only a passing importance?
2. Resonance- Who were/ have been affected by the event? Why was it important
to them?How were people’s lives affected? Do people like to make analogies with
it? It is possible to connected with experiences, beliefs or attitudes across time and
place?
3. Remarkable- Was the event remarked on by people at the time or since?
4. Revealing- Does it reveal some other aspects of the past?
5. Remembered- Was the event/ development important at some stage within the
collective memory of a group or groups?
6. Resulting in Change- Does it have consequences for the future?
7. Durability- For how long have people’s live been affected? A day, a week, a year or all
their lives?
8. Quantity- How many people were affected? Did the event affect many, everyone, or
just a few? A whole barrio, a town, a province, a country or the entire race?
9. Profundity- Was the event superficial or deeply affected? How deeply people’s lives
were affected? How were people’s lives affected?
CHAPTER 2: Learning activities
I. Words to Know
Define the following terms based from your own understanding (not exactly copied from the
text)
1.Analysis-
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2.Content-
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3.Context-
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4.PointofView-
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5.HistoricalS ignificance-
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II. Brush Up
1. Differentiate contextual analysis from content analysis.
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2. What is the main purpose of examining or evaluating primary source?
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3. As a history Student, why is it more important to read primary sources that secondary
sources? Support your answer.
III. Shape Up your Mind
Paste or mount inside the box images of three primary sources using purpose or point of
view of the author. Briefly describe the images.
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