Critical Assessment of Primary and Secondary Sources

While there are no absolute rules about how to read and interpret primary sources, it is commonly accepted that by answering the 5 W's (and an H!) you should obtain a good understanding of the document. 

As a first step, it is recommended that you read the document from beginning to end without taking notes. Read the document as often as you need to, until you feel like you have a good grasp of what it is and what it says. 

As a second step, read the document and take notes, answering the 5 W's:  

• Who created the document
• What information does the document tell me
• When was the document created
• Where was it created and/or where does the information it contains take place (these may not be the same location)
• Why was this document created

And the H:

• How was the document created. The answer to this question has the potential to provide contextual information about the record

Each of these questions has a factual answer and none of them can be answered with a simple yes or no. The idea is to get you to do a critical reading of the document to understand how it will support your research. 

It is also a good idea to answer the following questions when reading primary source documents:  

• Does this document provide information that supports or challenges commonly accepted conclusions about your topic?
• Does this document provide accurate or biased information?
• How do you know the information is accurate or biased? What are the reasons for this bias if it exists

If you would like more information on reading primary sources, these are some good places to start:

How to read a primary source (University of Iowa) 

Primary sources: evaluating (Lafayette College)

What kind of research topic would this document be an obvious primary source for? 

If we expand our idea of how to use this document as a primary source, what other kinds of research would this be helpful for? 

What kinds of secondary sources can we use to help us understand this document and our research?