Why Do We Use Reliable Sources In History?

To produce sound historical research, we need reliable primary sources. Records created at the same time as an event, or as close as possible to it, usually have

a greater chance of being accurate than records created years later

, especially by someone without firsthand knowledge of the event.

Why is it important to use reliable sources in history?

When constructing your research paper

, it is important to include reliable sources in your research. Without reliable sources, readers may question the validity of your argument and your paper will not achieve its purpose. Academic research papers are typically based on scholarly sources and primary sources.

Why would a source be reliable?

A reliable source is one that

provides a thorough, well-reasoned theory, argument, discussion, etc. based on strong evidence

. Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or books -written by researchers for students and researchers. … These sources may provide some of their articles online for free.

What makes a reliable source of historical information?

Diaries and government papers

are often considered the most reliable of documents. They are often the source of traditional historical research. The main value of these sources is that the people producing them know they can say or write what they like honestly, without concern for the views of others.

What makes a source reliable and useful?

The short answer. Usefulness is a decision about how a particular source is helpful in understanding a specific historical topic, while reliability is a judgment about why you should trust the source. Ideally,

every historical source is both useful and reliable

.

What are 5 Reliable Sources?

• materials published within last 10 years;
• research articles written by respected and well-known authors;
• websites registered by government and educational institutions (. gov, . edu, . …
• academic databases (i.e. Academic Search Premier or JSTOR);
• materials from Google Scholar.

What are the 3 sources of information?

This guide will introduce students to three types of resources or sources of information:

primary, secondary, and tertiary

.

What makes an unreliable source?

The following are unreliable sources because they require

confirmation with a reliable

source: Wikipedia: although this is a good starting point for finding initial ideas about a topic, some of their information and attached resources may not be reliable. … Self-published sources. Opinionated articles such as editorials.

How do you know if the source is reliable?

1. 1) Accuracy. Verify the information you already know against the information found in the source. …
2. 2) Authority. Make sure the source is written by a trustworthy author and/or institution. …
3. 3) Currency. …
4. 4) Coverage.

Is .org reliable source?

Check the domain name

Look at the three letters at the end of the site’s domain name, such as “edu” (educational), “gov” (government), “org” (nonprofit), and “com” (commercial). Generally,

. edu and . gov

websites are credible, but beware of sites that use these suffixes in an attempt to mislead.

What is the most reliable source of information?

Academic journal articles

are probably the most reliable source of current thinking in your field. To be the most reliable they need to be peer reviewed. This means that other academics have read them before publication and checked that they are making claims that are backed up by their evidence.

What are some examples of unreliable sources?

• Book.
• Newspapers and magazines.
• Peer reviewed journals.
• Peer reviewed articles.
• PhD or MBA dissertations and research.
• Public library.
• Scholarly articles.

How do you teach reliability?

1. 3 – WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT WELL. You know the saying… “Anything worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” Teach kids to do their best work no matter if the task is important or mindless. …
2. 2 – BE CONSISTENT AND FINISH WHAT YOU START. …
3. 1 – BE HONEST.

What is the validity of a source?

The first is the validity of the information. This is the

truthfulness of the source in respect to the information presented

. The second piece of analyzing a source is to look at the reliability of the source. Reliability is, literally, the extent to which we can rely on the source of the data.

What are limitations of sources?

For example, if a source is

written by a biased observer

it might be limited because it presents only one side of a story. If it is written by someone who is not an expert in that field (perhaps by a journalist rather than by a historian) it might not be as professionally researched as it should be.

What is another word for reliable source?