History
-The study of the past is known as history (from the Greek word ἱστορία, historia, which means "inquiry; information gained through investigation"). Prehistory refers to events that occurred before the advent of writing systems. The word "history" refers to past events as well as the recollection, discovery, compilation, arrangement, presentation, and understanding of knowledge about them.
History also refers to the analytical discipline that employs narrative to explain, explore, challenge, and interpret a series of historical events, as well as the patterns of cause and effect that are associated with them.
Historical Identification (Sources)
A historical source (also known as historical material or historical data) is a primary source that contains essential historical information. These sources provide us with the most basic information about history, and they are used as hints in the study of history.
1. Primary Sources include documents or artifacts. Primary Sources are typically created by a witness in an event or around the time of the events being studied. They can be firsthand testimony or evidence created during the time period that you are studying.
They reflect what their creator saw or thought about the event. These sources serve as the raw material for analyzing and synthesizing in order to answer your research question, and they will serve as key pieces of evidence in your paper's argument. The collection and analysis of primary sources is central to historical research.
2. A Secondary Source is one that adds to or supplements information from a primary source. This source selects, modifies, and arranges the original information in a suitable format. Secondary sources require the original data to be generalized, analyzed, interpreted, or evaluated.
3. Tertiary Source is similar to a secondary source in that it contains analysis, but it aims to provide a broad introductory overview of a topic such as an encyclopedia or dictionary,
Examples of Historical Sources
-Primary Sources
•Original documents such as diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, records, eyewitness accounts, autobiographies, journals, scrapbooks and published books
•Empirical scholarly works such as research articles, clinical reports, case studies, dissertations
•Creative works such as poetry, music, video, photography and films
•Oral Histories
•Ancient Artifacts such as clothing, costumes, furniture, sculptures, paintings and stone inscriptions.
•Research Data like public opinion polls
•Archaeological Sites and Ruins
•Geographical Features
-Secondary Sources
•Publications such as textbooks, magazine articles, book reviews, commentaries
-Tertiary Sources
•Dictionary
•Encyclopedia
•Almanacs