source strengths and weaknesses

Question 1

memoirs

Answer 1

s: gives us valuable first-hand accounts of events
w: may reflect personal bias, limited perspective, memories may be different to objective truth

Question 2

doctors’ and nurses’ records

Answer 2

s: gives detail of illness, injury and treatment, can tell us common injuries and how treatment evolved
w: clinical, doesn’t include emotional side of events

Question 3

army statistics and hospital records

Answer 3

s: gives figures of dead, injured, and nature of injuries
w: little insight into experience

Question 4

paintings and poems

Answer 4

s: conveys thoughts and feelings of the artist and the wars effect on them
w: single interpretation, may have exaggerated or underplayed parts

Question 5

photographs

Answer 5

s: gives appearances of people, places and events and allows the viewer to place themselves at the scene
w: could be staged, only a single snapshot

Question 6

diaries

Answer 6

s: often honest record of a person’s thoughts, feelings and experience
w: single experience, lacks bigger picture

Question 7

national newspapers

Answer 7

s: allow us to understand how events were seen and reported at the time
w: reflects biases and prejudices of the reporter, may give inaccurate views to keep up morale

Question 8

army records

Answer 8

s: official documents, factual and objective
w: many are missing or incomplete

Question 9

government reports

Answer 9

s: official, factual and objective
w: limited information- only what the government wants the public to know

Question 10

medical articles

Answer 10

s: very detailed information about medical conditions, treatments and outcomes
w: often contains complex medical terminology