Source Questions Flashcards
1
Q
Strengths of a Diary Entry?
A
- Insight into the author’s perspective.
- If author represents a group will reflect
their opinion. - Could be rare if from a worker/peasant.
- Likely to be an honest account.
2
Q
Weaknesses of a Diary Entry?
A
- Always involve narrative selection .
- People kid themselves - try to explain events etc.
- Not objective.
- May not be typical/representative.
3
Q
Strengths of Eye Witness Accounts?
A
- Rare evidence of an event from a source that would otherwise not be recorded.
- Can provide an insight into a group’s perspective.
E.g. Jacobins, military etc. - Closeness to events may provide richness of detail not able to be obtained elsewhere.
4
Q
Limitations of Eye Witness Accounts?
A
- Eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable, especially if a long period of time has elapsed since the event that is being recounted .
- Unlikely to be representative of all key groups/stakeholders.
- May be emotionally attached and lacking an objective, wider perspective.
- Being personally involved may mean they have only witnessed a part of the event.
5
Q
Strengths of a Government report?
A
- Access to information to build the report.
2. Purpose is to inform - direct evidence of its activities, functions, and policies.
6
Q
Limitations of a Government Report?
A
- Restricted by geography/topic/time?
- May have an agenda to portray the government in a particular way.
- Pressures may exist on the authors of the report.
- We don’t know how the report was compiled and what methods were used.
7
Q
Strengths of a Letter?
A
- Insight into the author’s perspective.
- If author represents a group will reflect their opinion.
- Could be rare if from a worker/peasant
8
Q
Limitations of a letter?
A
- Subjective interpretation of events.
- Limited insight into other group’s perspective.
- Agenda .
- If the political climate is repressive then it is likely that they are not fully open.
9
Q
Strengths of a memoir/autobiography?
A
- Insight into the thoughts of key individuals which would otherwise have been lost.
- By people close to the events so therefore rare and useful.
10
Q
Limitations of a memoir/autobiography?
A
- Events are always relayed from the perspective of one individual and this can skew the relative importance of this individual in the event.
- Can be self-promoting.
- Problem of remembering accurately.
- Often published to make money- therefore, need to entertain, sensationalise etc.
11
Q
Strengths of a Newspaper?
A
- Illustrate how people viewed historical events before these events became historical.
- Often subject to censorship and control by governments. The ‘news’ stories can therefore offer excellent evidence of how the powerful seek to manipulate the views of the public.
- News reporters are often amongst the most important eyewitnesses to important events.
12
Q
Limitations of a Newspaper?
A
- Rarely simply factual and objective - often opinionated and seeking to influence its audience.
- News reports often lack access to vital information and are often speculative.
13
Q
Strengths of a Speech?
A
- Provides an insight into a group/individual’s attitudes/agenda/tactics.
- Often have been made at a certain time, place and to a particular audience for a reason -revealing of contextual politics of the time
14
Q
Limitations of a Speech?
A
- Always has an agenda.
- Unlikely to include all information .
- Unlikely to be entirely accurate.
15
Q
Strengths of Statistics?
A
- Often the end result of a lot of hard work, serious research and counting.
- They can summarize very accurately and with great precision very complex factors.
- Can demonstrate, patterns and trends which offer explanations.
