How to Read a Primary Source

Reading Primary Documents

Start with the basic questions:

• What? – What type of material is it? The document, photograph, government publication…
• Who? – Who created the material? Where did it come from? Can its origin be determined?
• When? – Where does the item fit into the chronology of the period being studied? How close to the
  person or event is the material?
• Why? – For whom and to what purpose was the material created? What biases may inherently or
  intentionally exist in it?
  Interpret your findings—given the facts about the items, interrogate it:
  • What content is provided and what is missing?
  • What items do you need to create as objective of a study as possible? Where does the
    material point you now?
  • What verification or additional research is needed to flesh out your understanding of the
    material? Additional secondary sources? Different types of primary material?
  • Interrogate primary sources just as critically as secondary sources or the opinions of
    other scholars and students.
    For example, reading a photographic image as text:
    • Do we know the date, author, location, and publication information?
    • What is included, such as legible signage, individuals, and geographic details, architectural
      and commercial details?
    • Using the quadrants method to read the image, starting in the top left corner and working
      clockwise, note the details and relation to other visible information.
    • Take notes on both your content and your impressions as a historian. The more familiar you
      are with the background information for the period, location, and subjects, the more context
      you will be able to glean from the image.
    • What other sources and other types of material can help contextualize the image and flesh
      out the historical significance?

Why History Matters: