QuickLesson

QuickLesson 2: Sources vs. Information vs. Evidence vs. Proof

Sources give us information from which we select evidence. If our research is thorough and we have soundly analyzed our findings, we might reach a conclusion. The body of evidence on which we base that conclusion is our proof.
 
As students, we learned to classify sources into two types, as a basis for evaluating reliability. Primary sources, theoretically, would be original, contemporary records.

QuickLesson 1: Analysis & Citation

 

Analysis and citation. Citation and analysis. In historical research the two are inseparable. Each is the egg that creates a chicken that creates an egg that creates a chicken. Amid that cycle, a defect in either the chicken or the egg can have long-term consequences.

As students, we learned that source citation was a chore we must do for two reasons: