Introduction to Historical Sources

The Oxford English dictionary defines History as ‘the study of past events’ (OED, 2009, p.441). Historians are forced to rely on evidence from the past to corroborate their theories and findings as ‘the historian is, by definition, absolutely incapable of observing the facts which he examines’ (Bloch, 1992, p.40).  The evidence available for research and study can be labelled as either a primary or a secondary source with each one having its own functions for historical research.

Primary sources originate from witnesses or recorders that have experienced the events
conditions of society first hand.  This is reinforced by historians such as Mary Lynn Rampolla who says ‘Primary sources are materials produced by people or groups directly involved in the event or topic under consideration, either as participants or witnesses’ (Rampolla, 2007, p.6).  Primary sources can appear in forms such as letters, diaries, objects, photographs and newspaper articles, to name just a few.  Primary sources can also be created at a later date in the form of an autobiography, despite its later creation date it is still a first hand testimony and therefore, a primary source.

A Secondary source ‘is information about primary, or original, information, which usually has been modified, selected, or rearranged for a specific purpose or audience’ (JCU, 2014). Secondary sources are used to explain, analyse and interpret past events. They are not created by people who have direct experience of the event and neither are they created at the time of the event. 

This blog has been created using both primary and secondary sources.