Primary and secondary sources

1. FINDING OUT ABOUT THE
PAST
How do we get information
about something that
happened in the past?
History research slideshow by R. McCarthy and
L. Suter, Belmont High School ©

2. SOURCES OF INFORMATION
• Ask people (someone who was there or might know about it)
• Using the Internet
• Go to a museum (view artefacts/models/fossils etc)
• Watch a documentary
• Watch a movie
• Look at photos
• Read a book
• Use an encyclopaedia (on-line, web based or hard
copy)

3. Sources of information can be divided
into two categories
• PRIMARY SOURCES
These are things that are
written or made during
the time being studied.
First hand information
• SECONDARY SOURCES
These are things
written or made after
the time being
studied.
Second hand information
that is often based on
primary sources

4. Examples of primary sources
• Photos (taken at the time)
• Artefacts
• Autobiographies
• Film/video footage (taken at
the time)
• Letters
• Speeches
• Paintings (done at the time)
• Drawings (done at the time)
• Maps
• Documents
• Bones
• Ruins
• Fossils
• Graves/tombs
• Cave paintings
• Newspapers (from the time)
• Voice recordings (from the
time)
• Diaries/journals
• Log books
• Posters

5. Examples of secondary sources
• Text books
• Movies
• Newspapers
• Pamphlets
• Nonfiction books
• Fiction books
• Encyclopaedias
• Websites
• T.V shows
• Models
• Replicas
• documentaries
• Teachers’ notes
• Students’
essays/assignments
• Biographies

6. PHOTOS AND TRANSLATIONS
• Unedited photos
of primary
sources can be
considered
primary sources
• Word for word
translations can
be considered
primary sources

7. Are these sources of information
primary or secondary?
• The Diary of Anne Frank
• The helmet worn by Ned Kelly
• (ex) Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2008 apology speech to
the Stolen Generation
• Last week’s newspaper article commenting on Kevin
Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generation
• Captain Cook’s log book
• History text book
• The film “Dunkirk” starring Harry Styles
• Photos of the passengers boarding the Titanic
• Video footage of the shooting of JFK (USA President)

8. Does our School Library give you
access to primary or secondary
sources?

9. WHAT SOURCES OF INFORMATION
WOULD YOU FIND IN OUR SCHOOL
LIBRARY ON THE RATS OF TOBRUK?
https://clickv.ie/w/FxYe

10. ARE ALL SOURCES OF HISTORICAL
INFORMATION RELIABLE?
Do they all give an ACCURATE
picture of the past?

11. When you are using a source of historical
information you need to consider the
CONTEXT in which it was made to
determine its RELIABILITY/accuracy.
• Who wrote or created the source? Whose
PERSPECTIVE is it from?
• What was the knowledge or understanding of the
person who created it?
• Why was the source created? PURPOSE
• Was the source written or created for someone?
• When was the source created?

12. Perspective example
• Consider a newspaper article around the time
of the start of WW2 from a British newspaper.
• Consider a newspaper article around the time
of the start of WW2 from a German
newspaper.

13. Use more than one source of
information!
This will help you get a better range of information
Most importantly, more than one source should also;
• help you work out if the information you have found
is RELIABLE because if another source gives the same
or similar information then you can have more trust in
it (one source is CORROBORATING another).
If two sources contradict each other you go to other
sources.

14. CORROBORATION
Adding strength or support to an idea/information
(found in the sources you have located as part of
your research).
To make sure your information is reliable and as
accurate as possible.

15. USING PRIMARY SOURCES TO MAKE
EDUCATED GUESSES ABOUT THE PAST
• Historians use information gained from
primary sources to make judgements about
what happened in the past. They investigate
multiple sources to confirm the educated
guess (hypothesis) they make about the past.
• They work out who, what, where, when, how
& why by studying primary sources.

16. BE THE HISTORIAN!
• Your group will be allocated an object
(primary source)
• You need to find the object (they are all
numbered)
• You need to study the object and discuss it
• Most of these you can touch (be careful and
sensible) and others are labelled “Do Not
Touch”. Please be respectful.

17. Investigating the past using a primary
source
• Look closely at the object from all angles
• If you are allowed, feel it’s weight. What is it
made from?
• Is there any writing or printing (any dates?)
• What might it have been used for, by whom
and when?

18. HYPOTHESIS
• After investigating the primary source your
group needs to make some educated guesses
about what it might be and/or what it was
used for. You will then present your hypothesis
to the class
• In a normal investigation you would also use
secondary sources (books, internet etc) to help
you with identifying and dating the object

19. Local History Investigation
• Using the primary sources found at an old
local property make some educated guesses
about the property and the people who lived
there.
• Remember to be on the look out for
corroborating evidence.
• Look at your worksheet

20. Can you make any guesses
about what the object is,
when or where it was used?
What extra information
would help?