How to evaluate the reliability of historical sources
Summary
TLDRThis history skills video teaches viewers how to evaluate the reliability of historical sources for research essays. It emphasizes the importance of assessing a source's trustworthiness based on the creator's background, presence at the event, education, and audience approval. The video uses examples like Shakespeare's portrayal of King Richard III and Adrian Goldsworthy's scholarly work on the Roman army to illustrate varying degrees of reliability, urging students to choose credible sources for their studies.
Takeaways
- 🔍 Evaluate the reliability of historical sources to ensure the trustworthiness of quotes used in research essays.
- 📚 Reliability is a degree-based assessment, not a binary one; sources can be extremely, very, somewhat, rarely, or not very reliable.
- 👤 The reliability of a source is primarily determined by analyzing the creator's background and perspective on the historical events.
- 🏛 Consider the creator's presence at the event, their education level, and their professional reputation in assessing reliability.
- 📘 Fact-checked sources, such as academic journals, are generally more reliable due to peer approval.
- ❌ Avoid using sources deemed unreliable; if necessary, justify their use with alternative evaluation skills.
- 🤔 Establish unreliability by questioning the creator's presence, education, or the presence of biased language in the source.
- 🎭 Shakespeare's play about Richard III is an example of an unreliable source due to its entertainment purpose and bias.
- 🎓 Adrian Goldsworthy's works on the Roman army are reliable due to his academic credentials and expertise in the field.
- 📝 Use the examples provided to understand the difference between reliable and unreliable sources in historical research.
- 💡 For further guidance on historical source evaluation, visit the recommended website for more examples and advice.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video script?
-The main focus of the video script is to teach viewers how to evaluate the reliability of historical sources for their history assessment tasks, particularly research essays.
Why is it important to use reliable sources in history assessment tasks?
-It is important to use reliable sources in history assessment tasks to ensure that the quotes and information used can be trusted, thus providing a solid foundation for the arguments presented.
What does the term 'reliability' mean in the context of historical sources?
-In the context of historical sources, 'reliability' refers to the degree to which a source can be trusted to provide accurate and unbiased information about historical events.
How should one approach the evaluation of a historical source's reliability?
-One should approach the evaluation of a historical source's reliability by examining the creator's background, their presence at the event, their education, and the source's purpose and audience.
What are some factors that can indicate a source is reliable?
-Factors that can indicate a source is reliable include the creator being personally present at the event, having a highly-educated perspective on the topic, or the source being fact-checked and approved by its audience.
What should one do if they find a source to be unreliable?
-If a source is found to be unreliable, the best advice is not to use it. However, if the source is relevant and no alternative is available, one should use a different evaluation skill to justify its use.
How can one establish the unreliability of a source?
-One can establish the unreliability of a source by pointing out that the creator was not present at the event, lacks sufficient education on the topic, uses biased language, or the source's purpose is for entertainment rather than presenting facts.
What is an example of an unreliable historical source mentioned in the script?
-An example of an unreliable historical source mentioned in the script is William Shakespeare's play about Richard III, as it was written over a hundred years after the king's death and primarily aimed to entertain rather than present historical facts.
What is an example of an extremely reliable source discussed in the script?
-An example of an extremely reliable source discussed in the script is Adrian Goldsworthy, who has a PhD in ancient history, specifically on the Roman army, and is a world-renowned academic on ancient Roman military matters.
How does the script suggest using unreliable sources in an argument?
-The script suggests that if one must use an unreliable source in an argument, they should use a different evaluation skill to argue for its inclusion rather than simply stating that the source is unreliable.
What is the purpose of the examples given in the script about Richard III and the Roman army?
-The purpose of the examples given in the script is to illustrate how to apply the concept of source reliability evaluation to real historical figures and topics, helping viewers to solidify their understanding of the concept.
Outlines
📚 Evaluating the Reliability of Historical Sources
This paragraph introduces the concept of source reliability in historical research, emphasizing its importance for assessment tasks like research essays. It explains that reliability is not absolute but exists in degrees, and suggests that the creator's background is crucial in determining a source's trustworthiness. The paragraph outlines factors that can indicate a source's reliability, such as the creator's presence at the event, educational background, or the source being an academic publication that has undergone fact-checking. It also addresses how to handle unreliable sources, suggesting either not using them or justifying their use with additional evaluation skills. The paragraph concludes with an introduction to examples that will be used to illustrate the evaluation process.
🏛 Case Studies in Historical Source Reliability
The second paragraph provides two examples to demonstrate the evaluation of historical sources. The first example discusses the reliability of Shakespeare as a historical source for King Richard III, noting that his play was written over a century after the king's death and was intended for entertainment rather than historical accuracy, making it a biased and unreliable source. The second example contrasts this with Adrian Goldsworthy, a scholar with a PhD in ancient history and a renowned academic in Roman military matters, whose books are considered extremely reliable sources. The paragraph concludes by encouraging viewers to visit history skills comm for further guidance, signaling the end of the video script.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Reliability
💡Historical Sources
💡Source Evaluation
💡Creator
💡Perspective
💡Fact Checked
💡Unreliability
💡Bias
💡Entertainment
💡Academic Journal
💡Context
Highlights
Evaluating the reliability of historical sources is essential for choosing quality sources in history assessment tasks, especially research essays.
Reliability is a source evaluation skill that helps determine if a source is trustworthy.
Sources should be reliable to ensure the quotes used from them can be trusted.
It's hard to be completely sure if any source is 100% reliable or completely unreliable.
Reliability of sources is discussed in terms of degrees, such as extremely, very, somewhat, rarely, or not very reliable.
Assessing a source's reliability is primarily based on what you know about the creator.
Investigate the creator's background, perspective, and when they lived to determine the source's reliability.
A source may be considered reliable if the creator was present at the event, has a highly-educated perspective, or if the source has been fact-checked and approved by its audience.
If a source is found to be unreliable, it's best not to use it.
If an unreliable source is relevant and no alternative exists, use a different evaluation skill to justify its use.
To establish unreliability, raise doubts based on the creator's absence at the event, lack of education, biased language, or the source's purpose to entertain rather than inform.
Shakespeare's play about Richard III is an example of an unreliable historical source due to his bias and lack of eyewitness account.
Adrian Goldsworthy is an extremely reliable source on the Roman army due to his education, expertise, and academic reputation.
Goldsworthy's background in ancient history, including a PhD and teaching experience, makes him a credible authority on the topic.
Understanding the reliability of sources helps students feel more confident in their historical studies.
For further explanations, examples, and advice on evaluating historical sources, visit historyskills.com.
Transcripts
[Music]
welcome to another history skills video
today we're looking at how to evaluate
the reliability of historical sources
this skill will allow you to confidently
choose quality sources for history
assessment tasks especially research
essays so what is reliability
reliability is a source evaluation skill
which asks you to draw a conclusion
about whether a particular source is
trustworthy it is important that the
sources you use in your assessment
pieces are reliable so that the quotes
you use from them can be trusted but be
careful it's hard to be completely sure
that any source is 100% reliable or
completely unreliable
therefore when we talk about reliability
of sources we talk in terms of degrees
of reliability for example you can
conclude that a source is extremely very
somewhat rarely or not very reliable so
how do you assess reliability your
decision about a sources reliability is
based primarily upon what you know about
the creator of the source therefore
during your analysis of the source
ensure that you discover who the creator
was and investigate their background
when they lived in what perspective they
had on the historical events you're
focusing upon once you know enough about
the creator of the source you can argue
that a source is reliable
based upon any of the following
information that the creator of the
source was personally present at the
event or that the creator of the source
has a highly-educated perspective on the
topic such as a university professor
alternatively that the source has been
fact checked and subsequently approved
by its audience such as an academic
journal but what if you find that a
source is unreliable when using
information from sources to prove your
argument you need to be able to use
sources that are reliable if you have
found a source which you think is
unreliable the best advice would be not
to use that source however if the source
is true relevant to your topic that you
cannot use another try and use a
different evaluation skill to argue for
why you are using it rather than simply
saying that the source is unreliable
but if you have to how do you establish
unreliability based on what you have
discovered in your analysis of the
source you can raise doubts about the
reliability of a source based upon any
of the following firstly that the
creator of the source was not present at
the time of the event for example though
writing hundreds of years after it
occurred or that the creator of the
source is not sufficiently educated
enough about the topic for example they
have no formal education in history
alternatively you have discovered so
much biased language in the source that
you believe it undermines its
credibility for example an online blog
post
finally it is clear that the purpose of
the source was to entertain rather than
simply give an opinion or focus on the
facts about the topic now that you know
how to evaluate a source for reliability
let's look at some examples to solidify
your learning our first example is about
one of the most famous and controversial
kings of England Richard the third who
lived between AD 1450 to and 1485 King
Richard was so famous that Shakespeare
himself wrote a play about his life and
death where the king is portrayed as an
extremely evil character but how
reliable is Shakespeare as a historical
source about Richard the third let's
look at what our analysis of Shakespeare
tells us firstly Shakespeare wrote the
play about Richard the third over a
hundred years after the King's death so
Shakespeare was not an eyewitness of the
events secondly and most importantly
Shakespeare wrote the play about Richard
primarily to entertain an audience
rather than to present historical fact
as a result Shakespeare clearly presents
a biased version of Richard's life in
order to make him a great villain in his
story rather than trying to be
historically accurate therefore we can
easily conclude that Shakespeare is a
very unreliable source about the life of
Richard the third our second example is
about a specific aspect of ancient
culture the Roman army if you are
researching Rome's ancient military
you'll quickly encounter books on the
topic by an author called Adrian
Goldsworthy
he has many titles dedicated to Roman
society military and significant
historical personalities from the era
including Julius Caesar and Augustus but
how reliable is Goldsworthy as a
historical source about the Roman army
let's look at what our analysis of goals
really tells us Goldsworthy studied both
ancient and modern history at Oxford
University and received a PhD in ancient
history his thesis was specifically on
the Roman army between 100 BC and AD 200
furthermore he is taught history at many
universities around the world as well as
writing many books as is clear from this
information Goldsworthy is a world
renowned academic about ancient Roman
military matters therefore we can easily
conclude that Goldsworthy is an
extremely reliable source about the
ancient Roman military now you have a
better understanding of reliability of
sources I hope that you feel more
confident in your studies if you need
further explanations examples and advice
head over to history skills comm and
I'll see you next time
you
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