HIST 3980: Junior Honors in History - Clay, Rijk-Epstein: Critical Analysis

The Special Collections Research Guide for HIST 3980 Junior Honors in History is intended to help students learn more about primary sources, rare books and manuscripts and to provide tips on locating them. It also provides advice for handling these items

Critical Analysis

Researchers need to think critically about the sources they find.  This includes evaluating who wrote the piece, why the document was created, the historical context behind the document or object, as well as other considerations.  Here are some questions to help you begin this process.

Document Analysis Exercise

1. Who created the document?

2. Who is the intended audience?

3. Why was the document created? What is its purpose?

4. When was the document created? What historical events may have influenced the creation of the document?

5. Does the creator of the document demonstrate bias? What assumptions does s/he make which support this?

Questions to Consider

1.  What surprised you about the document? ‘

2.  What didn’t surprise you?

3.  What does the document tell you about life at that time?

4.  Are there things in the document that you were expecting to see but didn’t?