Source Evaluation — Flashcards & Quiz

Key Points

• Primary source: produced at or near the time of the event by someone with direct involvement (letters, inscriptions, archaeological finds, artefacts).
• Secondary source: later interpretation by a historian working from primary evidence.
• Key evaluation questions: who made it, when, why, for whom, and how reliable is it?
• Bias: unavoidable — every source has a perspective. The goal is to identify it, not pretend it doesn't exist.
• Corroboration: using multiple independent sources to confirm a fact increases confidence.
• Limitations: damaged artefacts, language translation issues, survival bias (what survives isn't always representative), and the author's access to information.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Confusing primary (original) with secondary (later interpretation) sources.
2. Treating "bias" as purely negative — it just means perspective; all sources have one.
3. Claiming a source is "reliable" without explaining why, or citing specific limitations.
4. Using "source" and "evidence" interchangeably — a source provides evidence but isn't the same thing.
5. Ignoring corroboration — single-source claims are always weaker.

Exam Strategy

QCAA Unit 1 source evaluation questions give you a source extract and ask you to evaluate its usefulness. Method: (1) identify the source type (primary/secondary) and origin, (2) describe what it reveals, (3) evaluate reliability (author, motive, perspective), (4) evaluate usefulness (what it shows vs doesn't), (5) suggest corroboration.

Revision Tip

Source evaluation is a repeatable method — drill a Revizi deck with the five-step evaluation structure applied to different ancient sources.