HIST 321: The Sixties in Myth and Reality

On this page, you'll find: 

• Tips for choosing sources to use in your project
• Resources for analyzing primary sources 

When choosing sources, consider:

• Who
  • Who wrote it? What could their biases and affiliations be?
• What
  • What kind of source is it? A book? A newspaper article?
  • What claims does the source make? What is its argument or thesis?
• Where
  • Where was it published? In an encyclopedia? Online? What country?
• When
  • When was it written? What time frame does it cover?
• Why
  • Why did the author write it?
  • Why might it be useful to my own argument or research questions?

Primary sources need to be evaluated and analyzed before you use them in your research, just like any other resource. Here are some helpful guides and worksheets for evaluating primary sources: 

• How to Evaluate Primary Sources on Cultural Heritage Websites: This worksheet from Robin M. Katz should be used with any source you find using Google or another search engine.
• Document Analysis Worksheets: These worksheets from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) include worksheets for specific types of primary sources (photographs, documents, videos, etc.) You can use these for any primary source you use.