Primary Source Documents

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Learning how to use primary documents in research is an important skill. Students need to use their critical thinking skills to evaluate the document to decide its relevance to the research work.  Primary documents are an important part of research and are examined with critical thinking skills.  It is important to establish a context for the source and the purpose of the document.

In analyzing primary documents the following questions may be addressed.  These questions are suggestions; some or all may be used as determined by the grade level of the students and the purpose of the research.
Establishing a context and intent for the source
  • Author: Who was the author?  What do we know about him/her?
  • Time: When was it written?
  • Culture: What was the culture of the time?
  • Events: What were some of the major events of the time?
  • Purpose: Why was the document created?
  • Audience: Whom was the document created for?
Understanding the source
  • Problems: What problems/issues/events does the source address?
  • Ideas: What are the main points/ideas/arguments?
  • Bias: What assumptions/values/feelings does the author reflect?
  • Outcomes: What actions/outcomes does the author expect?
  • Audience:  Whom does the author expect to act on the information?
Purpose of the document
  • Authenticity:  Does the author know enough about the topic to discuss it?  Could the document be invented or mistranslated?
  • Representative: How typical is the document of others of the same period?
  • Consequences: What could the consequences of this document be? If the audience were moved to act on suggestions of the document, what might the consequences be?
  • Events: What were the actual consequences? What really happened? Short-term Long-term
  • History:  What new or different interpretation does this document provide about this historical period?
  • (Adapted from William and Mary Social Studies Units)
Examples of Primary Documents
Primary documents are exact copies of original writings or photographs.
  • Letters
  • Stories and poetry
  • Newspaper or magazine articles not edited but by the author
  • Documents
Sources for Obtaining Primary Documents
Because of the high interest in primary documents many sources are available.
  • Catalogues of teachers’ supplies list primary sources
  • William and Mary social studies units contain primary sources
  • Internet
  • Libraries