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#611 Skills Workshop: Selecting Good Secondary Sources

2/14/2018

 
Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources

What are primary, secondary, and tertiary sources?
  • A primary source was produced at the same time that the events described in the source took place.
    • How have we practiced working with primary sources during our course?
  • A secondary source is written later, often based on research incorporating those primary sources.
    • What do you think would make a good secondary source?
  • Tertiary sources are reference materials like encyclopedia that summarize information contained in secondary sources.
    • What role might tertiary sources play in your research paper?

In most cases, these are easy to differentiate. But keep in mind some possible challenges:
  • Diaries and letters written by people who were participants in the actions they describe are easy to classify as primary sources, but what about memoirs or autobiographies? These are usually written well after the events took place and often will tell you more about the period in which they were written than about the period they describe.
  • What about newspapers? The author of an article presents an interpretation, but if the article reports current events, it is primary. If the article reports past events, it is secondary. Keep in mind that an article about a past event can present valuable primary evidence concerning the author’s context.

Apply: complete the following chart (Google Doc)

Keys to selecting good secondary sources

Together we will overview the handout “Selecting Good Secondary Sources” (Google Doc) that you previewed for homework.

Next, work as a team to identify six excellent secondary sources that might be useful for historical research on the team-specific topic that has been assigned to your group.

Check your sources against the author, publisher, and date tips on the handout. Identify sources you think are:
  • especially strong, and
  • might need to be analyzed more closely.

Debrief together as a class.

Possible topics (note these are the same topics we will select from for our group presentations):
  • The Women’s suffrage movement
  • Prohibition
  • The Socialist Party in the United States
  • Treaty of Versailles
  • President Herbert Hoover
  • Dorothea Lange’s photography (documenting the Great Depression)
  • Connections between the Great Depression and the Great Recession of 2008
  • The New Deal
  • President Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • The Red Scare of 1919-1920
  • U.S. reactions to the growth of fascism​

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  • Courses
    • Archived Courses >
      • Chinese History >
        • Ancient/Early Modern: Living China's History >
          • Living China's History (fall 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • Course Project
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
          • Living China's History (fall 2018) >
            • In-Class >
              • The Death of Woman Wang
            • Assignments
        • Modern: China's Fall and Rise >
          • China's Rise and Fall (spring 2019) >
            • Course Info
            • In Class
            • Assignments + Units
          • China's Fall and Rise (spring 2018) >
            • Course Information
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
        • Contemporary: Thinking about a Changing China >
          • Thinking about a Changing China (spring 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • In Class
            • Assignments
      • Global Thinking (grade 9 seminar) >
        • HS150 Course Information
        • HS150 In-Class
        • HS150 Assignments
      • Japanese History >
        • Japan's Empire and its Legacies (fall 2016) >
          • Course Information
          • Daily Review
          • Schedule >
            • JE Unit 1
            • JE Unit 2
            • JE Unit 3
            • JE Unit 4
            • JE Unit 5
            • JE Unit 6
          • Research >
            • Issues of History
            • Research Schedule >
              • Checkpoint #2: Annotated Bibliography
              • Checkpoint #3: Outline
              • Checkpoint #4: Supplemental Pages
      • U.S. History >
        • Humanities History (2017-18) >
          • Course Information
          • In-Class
          • Assignments
        • Humanities History (2016-17) >
          • Course Information
          • In Class
          • Assignments >
            • U1: The American Revolution & the Constitution
            • U2: Defining the Nation
            • U3: 19th Century Social & Cultural Transformations >
              • Cemetery Project
            • U4: A House Divided
            • U5: Industry & Empire
            • U6: Progressive Promise & Disillusion
            • U7: Global Conflicts
            • U8: Civil Rights & Human Rights
      • More Course Descriptions
  • Skills
    • Reading >
      • Active Reading
      • Advanced Reading Strategies (Upper Mids and Seniors)
      • Outlining for Reading
      • Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
      • Analyzing Primary Sources with SOAPSTone
      • Analyzing Visual Primary Sources
      • Selecting & Evaluating Secondary Sources
    • Thinking >
      • What is History?
      • Historical Thinking Chart (PDF)
      • Breaking Down History with the SPICE Factors
    • Discussing >
      • Engaging in Class Discussion
      • Evaluating Discussion
    • Researching >
      • Identifying Research Topics & Questions
      • Note Cards
    • Writing >
      • Zero Draft
      • Thesis Statements
      • Forming Counterarguments
      • Formatting Chicago-Style Papers
      • Ford Library Guide to Chicago-style Citations (PDF)
    • Tech Tips
  • Reference
    • Chinese History Tools
    • Further Reading in Asian Studies >
      • Books
      • News
      • Podcasts
    • Current Events around the World
  • About
    • About
    • Writing