Finding & Evaluating Secondary Sources FEBRUARY 15, 2017
Tonight Finding and using secondary sources Wikipedia pros and cons Secondary sources on your projects.
Secondary Sources A secondary source contains information that has been interpreted, commented, analyzed or processed by someone who did not experience first- hand or participate in the events or conditions you're researching. History textbooks, journal articles, encyclopedias, book reviews. Secondary sources are usually based on primary sources. Why use them? to obtain expert opinions in order to evaluate events. to gain insight by examining the same event from different perspectives or interpretations. to help you form your own opinion.
Historians Points of View Political history: the story of government, political leaders, electoral activities, the making of policy, and the interaction of branches of government. Diplomatic history: the study of relations between nations, diplomats, the ideas of diplomacy. Social history: the study of ways and customs, of family, education, children, demography (population change), and voluntary institutions (churches, fraternal orders, etc.) Cultural history: the study of language and its uses, of the arts and literature, sport, and entertainment, in constructing cultural categories. Economic history: the study of how an entire system of production and consumption works, of markets, industry, credit, and working people at all levels of the system. Legal history: the study of all facets of law, including analysis of particular laws, legal institutions, individuals who operate in the legal system, and the effect of law on society. Intellectual history: the study of ideology and epistemology, analyzing how ideas affect human actions and how the material world affects human ideas.
Using Secondary Sources As a collection of facts Quick recall of factual information eg Who were the major players in government during the Cuban Missile Crisis? For background material What else was going on? Why was this significant? Why then and not previously? To make sense of your topic with another interpretation What questions have other historians asked? How have they answered them? What sources did they use? What interpretations exist? Do they agree or disagree?
Finding Secondary Sources How do you find a good secondary source?
Finding Secondary Sources GMU Catalog keyword subject heading Journal Databases JSTOR ProQuest Bibliographies & Citations Google Scholar Google searches Amazon WorldCat Beware of Filter bubbles!!!!
Evaluating Analog Sources Questions to determine if it is a scholarly or credible source: Who is the author? What are her academic credentials? Does the author base her arguments on primary sources? Are there any sources that you are aware of that the author does not consider? Does the book/article have notes, a bibliography, and other academic apparatus? Do these references contain other major/current works in the same field of study? When was the book/article published? Who published the book/journal?
Scholarly, Credible Journals This is only a sample of some of the most relevant journals to this class and your final projects. Journal of American History American Historical Review Cold War History Journal of Cold War Studies Journal of Military History Diplomatic History When in doubt, check the American Historical Association s list of Academic Journals. Use this site to find journals that may pertain to your subject or to verify is a journal is scholarly. https://secure.historians.org/pubs/free/journals/
Structure: How has the author structured her work? How would you briefly outline it? Does the structure enhance or detract from the thesis? Evaluating the Content Just because a secondary source is scholarly doesn t mean it s content is reliable. You still have to evaluate the content of the author s argument and the evidence used to support it. Read a Review STAMP Three Key Questions Thesis: A thesis is the controlling argument of a work of history. There may be more than one. As you read, constantly ask yourself, how can I sum up what this author is saying in one or two sentences? Argument: A thesis is an argument. It is therefore subject to evaluation and analysis. Is it a good argument? Does the evidence support the conclusions? Motives: Why might the author have written this work? Primaries: What primary sources did the historian use to support her argument? Did she ignore any?
What does the author say? That is, what is the author's central claim or thesis, and the argument which backs it up? The thesis of a history paper usually explains how or why something happened. This means that the author will have to (1) tell what happened (the who, where, when, what of the subject); (2) explain how or why it happened. Why does the author say it? Historians are almost always engaged in larger, sometimes obscure dialogues with other professionals. Is the author arguing with a rival interpretation? What would that be? What accepted wisdom is the author trying to challenge or complicate? What deeper agenda might be represented by this effort? (An effort to overthrow capitalism? To justify Euro- Americans' decimation of Native American populations? To buttress claims that the government should pursue particular policies?) Where is the author's argument weak or vulnerable? Good historians try to make a case that their conclusion or interpretation is correct. But cases are rarely airtight - especially novel, challenging, or sweeping ones. At what points is the author vulnerable? Where is the evidence thin? What other interpretations of the author's evidence is possible? At what points is the author's logic suspect? If the author's case is weak, what is the significance of this for the argument as a whole? Three important questions to ask of secondary sources
Finding Secondary Sources (online) In a world of abundance, finding good information online means we must dig through search results. Results for primary & secondary sources will vary. Primary sources may not show up at all. Remember: Names & looks can be deceiving!
Evaluating Information You need to investigate: 1. Who owns the website? 2. What metadata is used to attract visitors? 3. What is the history of the site itself? 4. Reviews of the site?
Evaluating Information Hitler Historical Museum http://www.hitler.org/ The Hitler Historical Museum is a non- biased, non- profit museum devoted to the study and preservation of the world history related to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist Party.
Who owns it? Hitler Historical Museum vs. National Museum of American Jewish History
What is its history? We can consult the Internet Archive Wayback Machine: archive.org/web
Finding sites The best sites for historical information don t always come up on the first page of search results. Keep looking.
On Wikipedia Jon Udell The Heavy Metal Umlaut, Current page: https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/metal_umlaut Roy Rosenzweig, Wikipedia and the Future of the Past - What is their take on Wikipedia? - What are its strengths? - Weaknesses? It isn t evil. In fact, it can be quite helpful. If you know how to read it.
Wikipedia PROS Fast, timely. Easy source of background info. Mine the references. Crowd forces relative factual accuracy. CONS Biases do exist. Purposefully avoids controversy/ disputes over interpretation. Forces acceptance of common wisdom. Not friendly to original research. Open community is overstated.
Sounds of Wikipedia http://listen.hatnote.com/
Chicago Manual of Style http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html SINGLE AUTHOR BOOK Author: Gar Alperovitz Title: The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb Year: 1995 Publisher: Vintage Books City: New York SINGLE AUTHOR JOURNAL ARTICLE Author: J. Samuel Walker Title: The Decision to Use the Bomb: A Historiographical Update Journal: Diplomatic History Year: 1990 Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Pages: 97-114. Alperovitz, Gar. The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. Hamner, Christopher. The Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. TeachingHistory.org. Accessed September 22, 2016. http://teachinghistory.org/history- content/beyond- the- textbook/25484 Walker, J. Samuel. The Decision to Use the Bomb: A Historiographical Update. Diplomatic History 14, no. 1 (1990): 97-114.
Citation Rule of Thumb: Secondary Sources: Cite it how it was originally published Primary Sources: Cite it how you found it The whole point of citations is so another researcher can find the source you are referencing. Not everyone has access to same subscriptions services you do (Proquest, JSTOR, etc) Cite it like an analog source: Books Journal Articles Newspapers (can be a primary source, but still cite it like you would if you were looking at a physical copy) Magazines (can be a primary source) Primary Source YOU found in a physical archive Cite it like a digital source: Wikipedia Blog Posts Born digital journal article Essays on education websites, library & museum sites Primary Source YOU found in a digital archive
Zotero & ZotPress FREE, EASY- TO- USE TOOL TO HELP YOU COLLECT, ORGANIZE, AND SHARE YOUR RESEARCH SOURCES ZOTPRESS BRINGS YOUR ZOTERO LIBRARY AND SCHOLARLY BLOGGING TO WORDPRESS.
Using Zotero & Zotpress A HISTORIOGRAPHICAL EXERCISE