Transcript The 5 Ws: Determining Reliability of Historical Sources

The 5 Ws:
Assessing Reliability of Historical Sources
AP WORLD HISTORY
Historical Primary Sources
There are many types, including but not limited to:
1. Written accounts from a historical time period (interviews,
diaries, etc.)
2. Government documents
3. Paintings, drawings, photographs, or other art depicting events,
places, ideas, values, religious beliefs…etc
4. Historical artifacts: coins, pottery, other objects
5. Novels, stories, poems, literature
1. When was the source created?
1. Loss of information
2. Memory of people
3. Accuracy of research
2. Who is the author of the source?
1. Perspective (view point) of the author
2. Don’t assume bias
3. Why was this source created?
1. Reason for creation
2. How source was used in society
1. What type of source is this?
1. Medium of the source
2. Accuracy of the details (do they exaggerate? Are parts left out?)
2. Where does the source come from?
1. Perspective of a region
2. Differences between regions
3. Cross-reference: do other sources corroborate (support) this
source?