Relevant? Why? Revealing? Provenance. Reliable? Content. Who? Quantity. When? Quality. Where? Factual? Corroborated? Objective? Complete?

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1 Understanding Documents and Sources The following pages are a selective summary of the book, Understanding Documents and Sources edited by Peter Catterall and Harriet Jones written by IB History Students at the International School of Toulouse in 2001 Introduction The aim of this guide is to provide for examination students, facing documentary questions, a guide to the nature, uses and pitfalls of various types of historical sources. As well as referring back to the original text when necessary, students should also make use of History Skills (Chapter 3) by Mary Abbott. 1. Statistics 2. Autobiographies and Memoirs 3. Maps 4. Diplomatic Documents 5. Cartoons 6. Newspapers 7. Photographs 8. Diaries 9. Art 10. Oral History General Considerations: the Three Rs and the three Ws Relevant? Revealing? Reliable? Quantity Quality Provenance Content Who? When? Where? Factual? Why? Objective? Complete? Corroborated? No document should be taken at its face-value. Documents cannot speak for themselves and what they have to tell us depends upon the questions asked of it. The three basic questions that ought to be asked are the 3Ws: Who? 1

2 When? Where? This leads you to the important question of motivation, Why? If you are not given the information for the first three Ws, then you should be making comments about the provenance (attribution) of the source. Unless you are given this information, how can you be sure that the source is authentic? Along with a consideration of the type of source, the 3Ws taken together should allow you to make comments on both the reliability and usefulness (value) of the source. Knowing who, should allow you to decide on whether the author of the source was likely to be objective. Knowing when and where, will allow comments about contemporary eyewitness and problems of hindsight. (It is probably better to avoid vague comments about sources being primary or secondary.) However, knowing why a source is produced that will earn you most marks. To know why you must exhibit some contextual (historical) knowledge that lets you explain the particular circumstances behind the production of the source. In making comments on the reliability of a source you should have a mental list of points to consider, but you need not comment on all of them in your answer. At the very least, you should consider two broad areas: technical things to do with the making of the source (production details including date, names, editing etc.) and the content of the source itself (language, corroboration, bias etc.) Of these two general considerations, the content of the source is by far the most important. Remember, an unreliable source can still be very useful, it all depends on what it is used for. Soviet socialist realist art might not in fact be very realistic but it tells us a lot about how the Soviet government valued art for propaganda purposes. Making a judgement on a source s usefulness or value should also lead you to not only consider the reliability of the source but also much more than this. A useful source will say something relevant and will also be revealing: comprehensive and detailed and occasionally might be quite unique. Highly revealing sources might contain a lot of information (high quantity) or perhaps small amount of information very powerfully conveyed. (high quality) Comprehensive data about the number of victims of gas attacks in WWI is very useful in terms of quantity of information provided, but Wilfred Owen s poem Dulce et decorum est provides a unique quality of information. Finally, it is better to avoid making absolute comments. No source is completely useless and a perfectly reliable account is very rare indeed. You will usually be asked to evaluate which (practically) means looking for both good and bad things about a source. Although the following general guidelines will be very useful to students faced with document questions in exam conditions, examiners are very wary of pre-prepared generic answers. Take care to consider the particular sources that the examiners have chosen for you. Writing a document paper is a laborious activity and sources are carefully chosen, so avoid making too many comments about Diaries or Cartoons as types of in general. 2

3 Laura Walton 1. Statistics Statistics are frequently used to assess, for instance, economic performance or military strength. But how reliable are they and how can historians avoid the pitfalls involved in their interpretation? Most statistics used by military historians are only simple arithmetic, however it is what lies behind them that makes them complicated. The statistics that historians have to work with have already been edited, calculated and categorised. What must be remembered is that there are not exact figures but more approximate figures. Statistical sources: It is impossible to use all of the statistics that are available. Only a select few can actually be used. Most sources can be found in archives: world organisations, United Nations, League of Nations and official publications of governments. These sources include political, economic, social and cultural (PESC) stats. Local governments however, publish their data separately, they can also prove useful. The most useful to the historian are collections of historical stats that are made available in many countries. These are not particularly complicated or go into deep analysis like many others can do. Others include newspapers and journals of the period that working on. Individuals firms will have business records, which can prove useful for stats. Imperfections of data; Errors whether they are deliberate or nor can make no real difference, the point is that historians must be on guard and aware of such errors. It was no worse in the past as it is now, however it is worth taking note that many governments do cover up a lot as wells as businesses. They cab still be used as it is unlikely that the errors are so extreme that they can completely ruin a conclusion. Errors can occur in data being passed around for one person to another. Different evaluations of the same stats can be very confusing the whole matter. Nevertheless deliberate errors and cover-ups can often de detected if not they are normally revealed in time. Peculiar problems of historical statistic: These problems are stats, which have not survived the length of time. Either they were not recorded at all as in the past not many people didn t think the same as modern historians do today. Nether was it anyone s job to record certain data. However the odd figure cannot make a big difference. In the case of there being a lot of figures missing it is wise for historians to be able to be in contact with an expert who can provide an estimate according to the data already available. All that can really be done is to draw a conclusion to the best of their ability with the stats provided. Common statistical traps: There are three more traps to be added. 1. Percentage. The problem is that historians might make the mistake of not checking the base of which it has come from. 2. The next is similar thinking that is big or small. 3

4 A good example is population growth. It is important to compare with other areas or even countries to find out the actual size of the difference. 3. The index number is always a problem for the historian. Charlotte Holt. 2. Autobiographies and Memoirs. History is the record of human progress, achievements and endeavour. Ralph Waldo once argued, There is properly no history only biography. Therefore autobiographies and memoirs are important text when it comes down to research, as although they give an individual opinion they will not be as reliable as they appear because some of them are ambitious autobiographies trying to change or exaggerate the truth. Although they can be unreliable they can of course broaden the knowledge and paint a more vivid picture of the past and what happened. They can provide both more evidence and a considerable personal insight into what happened. The value of personal insight. Some biographies are successful in capturing the events but others are less successful and can hinder the historians view, as they have not captured the flavour of the moment. Autobiographies help to give a far more complete and rounded picture of the course of events, but they are not always accurate. Instead they help to impose some structure on the story and on the often inchoate (undeveloped) of personal development. This can be important and considerable value in providing a rationalisation of the subject s attitude and personal response to the social and cultural dilemmas of the period. An autobiography can help the historian understand the cultural background of the community or the upbringing of the author and can help the understanding of specific developments. Autobiographies can also help to explain intent and motives for why this happened thus leading to that etc; they can help make clear accounts for the historians to interpret. The above is also important to help historians understand the contextual knowledge of political issues and debates and the motives of the government at that time. It can at the very least (if unreliable) be used to supplement and contribute to other historical evidence to provide a larger amount of evidence to support newspapers or parliamentary debates. It can also be argued that personal records such as memoirs, autobiographies, diaries and letters are of greater importance for earlier periods because the amount of other sources is minimal. Autobiographies can also provide an insight to living and working conditions, other sources such as government reports, official statistics, social surveys and royal commission reports can be and should be used, they do in a sense fail to recreate the conditions and the experience of what it would be like to live in miners cottage or the experience of the workhouse which many of the autobiographies and memoirs capture. Motives and drawbacks. Not all autobiographies are revealing and they do not greatly improve our contextual knowledge. The autobiographies may exaggerate their own role in events, they may only report the facts which they believe to be important or they may not remember everything therefore leaving out vast areas of detail therefore distorting the course of events. The recollection of personal relationships is also likely to be 4

5 distorted therefore making the source less reliable and it is important for the reader of the autobiography to acknowledge what the sources were based upon. Memoirs written by government officials will be more reliable than average memoirs because they have special privilege access to the historical achieves therefore making their sources more reliable. It supplies their sources with a lot of detail, which is more reliable than autobiographies. It is important to try and check the origin of the source and thus in turn will make the source far more reliable. Not all autobiographies are autobiographies it is meant by this, although there is distinction between memoirs and biographies it has been eroded and while the former speaks mainly of a live story or experience the latter records a particular event. The value of both memoirs and autobiographies has not been universally accepted because they are seen to be chatty and informal when it comes to the historical side. They do however provide personal opinions and this is important as a historical source as a way of understanding not only the events but the individuals that helped shape them. History without personal insights would be boring and unbalanced. Matthew 3 Maps If history is to be understood it is important not only to discuss when it happened but where it happened. Unfortunately students as well as renowned historians have in general a lack of basic geographical knowledge to make maps truly valuable. Maps are generally used less as a tool to help an argument and more as an image to allow the reader to imagine districts and positions. Although this is important it would be better to include maps as part of any given argument instead of placing them in books between pages with little or no reference within the text. If one where to examine Germany before and after the Versailles treaty it would be hard to argue the loss of land without maps of the specific locations. Similar for books on wars such as Japanese occupation of Manchuria where it is important to understand where and how the facts can be important to the nations involved. Japan in this case had few resources and very little cultivatable land. A map would aid this visually. Students therefore need to consult maps starting with a basic understand of modern maps and allowing comparisons with old empires and nations. Depending on the questions asked or the answers needed maps can always be a good starting point. Maps originated in Britain mainly for military use. By knowing the country and surrounding continent invasions where easier to prepare or prepare for. Maps can be historical writings themselves. Examining a map of Britain from the 15 th century and then again from the 17 th century would show remarkable differences not only in terms of urbanisation but the development of new tools created to make better and more accurately drawn accounts. With map examination however one needs to stay focused on the problems that maps can have. It is important to note before relying on geographical evidence where the map came from. It is also important to understand its original purpose and when it was created. If needed be, it might be a good idea to find out how it was created. Robert 5

6 4. Diplomatic Documents Large amounts of money have been spent by most major powers to produce their own volumes of diplomatic documents. Countries do this in order to defend themselves in major international conflicts because of growing democracy. The British government, just like the US or French governments, has defended its case in international affairs, in particular in relation to major conflicts. Diplomatic documents can include such information as records o meetings, copies of agreements reached, briefing papers, important minutes, memoranda, significant telegrams. However, published volumes are selective. For fuller information, one would have to go to a public records office. In recent decades, more care has been taken in creating the volumes of diplomatic documents. International historians have begun to look in more depth at the reasons that lie at the heart of historical debates. Factors that must be kept in consideration are defence capabilities (has the country got military power to back up its beliefs), propaganda (in what ways has the state been defending its case and/or manipulating opinion in its favour), and intelligence agencies (did the country have inside information that it could use to help make a decision) such as the MI6, CIA, and KGB. However, factors such as defence, propaganda, and intelligence are not usually published and often remain closed for several decades. Problems will always remain for historians and historical debates will continue. It is important to remember that the diplomatic documents are not complete. There are always lost documents, important meetings left unrecorded, withheld documents, and pieces of evidence that are contradictory. Daniel 5. Cartoons A good starting point would be E.H Gombrich quote, the cartoon solidifies the elusive flux of events into a manageable or memorable myth. His comment is a consideration of what is distinctive about cartoons as historical evidence. By the offering of an instant day-by-day interpretation of events, they are more and more like the articles and news among which they feature. The cartoon is thus a kind of documentary, showing evidence of what happened at the time. A cartoon gets its distinctiveness from a work of pictures and not words. A caricature has no words at all, it s up to the reader to refer to the person s character from features, which have been exaggerated and distorted. For example, David Low s drew Hitler with all his dictorial power, but diminished him to a threat by highlighting ridiculous features such as his toothbrush moustache. Even when a caption is incorporated, it cannot make its point by argument. It is still up to the reader to work it out for themselves. By comparison to an editorial, a cartoon is blunt and assertive. It gives opinion, not reasons. Normally the cartoonist is against the idea or person. The suitable image is the key; the cartoonist s art is to find the right comparison so he/she can make the point. Take for example elections, which are full of imagery concerning war and battles. Humour and irony are risky weapons. Humour is a comparison: we laugh because we see resemblances or contrasts. Cartoons lose their value if they depend on ridicule and humour becomes inaccessible. Irony is risky, it assumes the reader will interpret the opposite of what the cartoon intends. 6

7 What this all shows, is that a cartoon can be a slippery evidence if it isn t contained within its proper context. Yet even if it is mainly subsidiary and corroborative, its images can be of enduring force, confirming in their own way the old saying that one picture is worth a thousand words as Colin Seymour-Ure said. Michael 6. Newspapers Newspapers offer an extremely unique approach to the past, but this approach still has to be handled with caution and a critical eye. Newspapers are able to express people s personalities and one is also able to read into the lifestyles of different social classes e.g. their leisure, interests, points of view etc. Newspapers are very valuable sources as unlike diaries and letters newspapers have the exact date as to when they were published. This enables the historian to pinpoint exact dates and chronologies of events. There is one ongoing debate that has arisen over the years about newspapers, which is whether society itself influences the opinions and the content of newspapers or vice versa. Some people believe that newspapers are a mirror for human tastes and views whereas others argue that this answer is too simplistic as some people only buy a newspaper for one specific reason e.g. sports section, leisure and don t read the whole content from page to page. This therefore creates a problem when one is to assume the reader represents the press content, as he may not even agree with the points of views of the stories, which he has not taken the time to read. Those who think that the press manipulates the reader argue that certain stories are deliberately placed in certain places and the choice of words and photographs heavily influence the reader s opinion. These issues can create various problems to a historian during his research. There are certain techniques however that make it possible to overcome such problems in order that the historian can make up his own mind and create his own ideas on events. One way that they can do so are by examining different newspapers of the time by studying not only the content of the stories but also the newspapers target audience, the price of the newspaper etc. By doing so he would be able to distinguish the intentional bias opinions from the unintentional. Such things as written images, illustration, photos offer insight onto how different people viewed and influenced society. Newspapers images for example create an insight for the historian as to what themes and events captured the public s eye and also what images are saleable to a potential consumer. Different sections also help the historian to gain insight into such things as the relationship between the two sexes, what forms of entertainment were popular, different sporting events. Newspapers, if used properly by a historian are very valuable for understanding the past. One of the main problems however arises out of the endless amount of information, which is held within countless numbers of pages. This factor should not be off putting however as given specific limits the historian is able to search through acres of newsprint more easily in order to search for his needs. Sarah 7. Photographs in 10 people used the camera in Britain - Cameras were first used in wartime during the Crimean war in the 1850s 7

8 The camera s social impact - Some local people used to think it unlucky to be photographed as found out Frank Sutcliffe, a late Victorian photographer. - Photographs of cabinet ministers later were widely exhibited in Victorian shop windows so that public celebrities could no longer travel unobserved. - In the 1880s photographs were taken of prisoners, criminals and people in the asylums which were collected in the library of Scotland Yard. - In 1886 photographs of MPs were used to help stop unauthorised people from entering the House of Commons s The Ordnance survey experimented with photography in map making. The camera began to contribute to the archaeology of all periods from prehistoric onward publication of Crawford s Ordnance survey map of Roman Britain. The photograph as a historical source: a critique - The introduction of the camera did not immediately change the way in which people viewed the world: - Photographs reflected the artist s convention of the day especially in the 19 th century in Britain. Many saw their photographs as artistic creations. - Historians must also be aware of forgeries. - People tend to get themselves photographed as they want to be remembered than as they usually are. - Only striking and exceptional events are recorded and not things that happen on a daily basis which to them seem uninteresting. - Cameras are often brought out for staged occasions and family functions when people who are geographically scattered or generationally divided can be photographed together. - They can also be deceptive as many early photos were only taken in nice weather. - The act of taking a photograph alters the conduct of those being observed. - The photographer has his own ideas of what should be photographed why, and how. - Photographs only give us ocular images and we know nothing about the noise, smell, touch and taste. - Photographs clarify more vividly than any text, painting or drawing how the past differs from the present. Naamah 8. Diaries Who keeps them? -Many leading figures in the past 200 years have written diaries (politicians, military commanders, scientists, artists ) Motives for diary keeping Historians must assess the value and accuracy of a diary (or of any source) 8

9 Main motives - Record-keeping/aide memoir - The psychological need to justify one s own feelings/actions - Escape frustrations It is basically the desire to keep alive a moment for one to recall. Nevertheless, some diaries are written with the aim of becoming historical records. This may imply that the diary is balanced and objective Value Any material from the past may have historical importance, but diaries can be more valuable than any. This is because, in some cases, the diary covers an extensive period of time. Diaries can show personal feeling whereas in minutes from a meeting can be impersonal and factual. Dairies can supply historians with atmosphere and color that gives the reader/historian insight that could be the view of the majority/minority of the people. They can also provide a lot of information; it can fill in the gaps in mysteries. Dangers - Dairies, like any other source can mislead and distort. - Difficult to evaluate the credence. They can exaggerate the importance of events and influence the reader/historian. - Daily written dairies can have fresh feelings/excess passion. - Dairies that are written less frequently, are obviously distant from the event, thus time can sooth and smooth the true feelings of a precise moment (not always) and time may also confuse the sequence of events. 9. Steven Art Paintings, sculptures, etchings, etc. are most likely to be found in cultural and social history but not so much in political, diplomatic and constitutional history. Two questions that can be asked are: Does it tell us anything we didn t know already? Does it tell us anything we couldn t find as easily in a different source? It is always possible that the artist was more concerned with relating his work to religious symbolism rather than a historical event. Flattering to deceive: Many artistic sources are misused in the sense that publishers would use them to brighten up their books. This form of art is very irrelevant unless the author uses it for references and indications rather than for decoration. The work of art must be the reason for there being a text, not the other way around. For portraits, many artists would use models rather than the real person. This could have been for a number of reasons, notably for economic reasons or (if it is a portrait of a woman) to present them as being more beautiful than they really are. The purposes of their creator s must be analysed very carefully. Reading the wrong message: 9

10 Establishing its date is a vital procedure with any source. For an art piece to be significant, its date must relate to the date of its subject. One mustn t put a work of art to a topic but a topic to a work of art. Many artistic sources could very easily have been forms of propaganda. Art in its context: The presence of religious symbolism in a painting can tell us a lot about the artist s beliefs. Other forms of art such as cartoons, woodcuts and etchings can give us a wider view of the attitudes and values of society, mentalities, common folk and popular culture. Art and culture: Artistic sources are extremely helpful when exploring great movements such as the Reformation or the Renaissance. Artists can help us, through their work, to see the way in which science, technology and industrialisation came to increasingly dominate our lives. Conclusion: Certain landscapes and townscapes can be very useful for topography, to see what places used to look like. Other forms can be used to get an idea of what the fashion was like at a certain time. If a historian is studying a certain time, art forms from that period could be vital to his success. Artistic sources are not the easiest to read, but in all sorts of ways they are among the richest. Bryana Turner 10. Oral History Oral history is an undeniably valuable therapeutic tool when used to help retain both dignity and use of faculties of patients in geriatric wards. The visual use and impact of oral history is on an increase, as it is often used through interviews on TV documentaries. Oral history is however very controversial because its sources are seen as unreliable as memories are weak when seeking particulars i.e. dates, names, sequence of events. Events viewed from personal perspective may also be oversimplified or the role of interviewer may be exaggerated, or relationships may affect testimony. Methods affect picture that emerges. Questions can distort evidence by selection and construction of sentences. One may be left with incomplete evidence if interviewer s knowledge of subject is not fully explored. Or, the interviewer may hear only what he or she wants to hear unless the subject is explored from many angles. A people s memories may be limited because of limited knowledge of a subject or event. Most important criticism is notion of hindsight that always brings selectivity. What was important then at the time may not be considered so later. Objection to oral sources comes particularly from political, diplomatic and defence historians, as they tend to rely the most on documentary evidence. 10

11 The use of oral sources is well established through social history. And the above objections do not apply as readily as social historians are looking for more general material and are less affected by unreliability of memory. Oral evidence can help illuminate areas not covered by documents. Summary: Interviews are a somewhat unreliable source and should be used with caution. It is useful as a supplement or in lieu of documentary evidence. The memory can has the ability to recreate a world we have lost. 11