Where Does History Come From — and Can We Trust It?

are based on belief; history is based on evidence. These notes show how get from different stories to an answer through the four steps of : ask questions, gather , examine them, and reason to a conclusion. Each step leads to the next: the questions show which sources are needed, the sources must be tested for trust and , and only claims that pass the test support a conclusion. The notes end with a first look at the two kinds of exam question.

Myth, the Past and History

Myth: a story based on belief. Nobody can check it, so it can't really be challenged.
History: a story based on evidence. When new evidence turns up, historians revise the story.
The past: everything that ever happened. History is only the parts historians pick out, using the evidence that survived.
Archaeologists and historians: dig up evidence; historians use it to explain what happened.

The Four Steps of Historical Inquiry

Ask questions about .
Gather sources.
Examine the sources.
Use reasoning to reach a logical conclusion.

Step 1: Ask Questions

The 5Ws and 1H: What, When, Where, Why, Who–Whom and How. Asking every one means no side of the event is missed.
Purpose: the questions show which parts of a story are agreed and which are disputed, and so where more evidence is needed.
Example: Mei and Kai agree on when their first day of preschool was and who was there, but whose crayon it was, why and how are all disputed.

Step 2: Gather Sources

Source: anything people from the past made, said or wrote.
Primary sources: first-hand, from the time or from people who were there.
Four types of primary source: oral (eyewitness interviews), written (newspapers, diaries, stone inscriptions), (pottery, tools, coins, weapons, monuments) and pictorial (photographs, paintings, maps).
Secondary sources: second-hand, made by people who studied , such as encyclopedias, biographies and articles.

Step 3: Examine the Sources

Key questions: who produced it? When, where and why? What does it tell us, and what does it leave out?
Bias: a one-sided view. Asking who made a source and why helps you spot it.
The 3Cs test: (can it be trusted?), (does the account stay the same over time?), (do other sources support it?).
Result: a claim that passes the test is a , such as "Singapore became independent in 1965"; one that fails is an .

Step 4: Conclude, and the Exam

Two kinds of exam question: source-based (what does this source tell you?) and structured-essay (describe or explain what happened).
Inference: a conclusion from evidence plus what you already know, not a guess. Gold jewellery is found, and gold is costly, so some people there were rich.
Comparing two sources: check who made each one, and its (positive or negative).
Writing it up: use (Point, Evidence, Elaboration, Link), so every conclusion is backed by evidence and tied to the question.
These skills are covered in much more depth in the Bonus Chapter.

In One Sentence

Historians ask questions, gather sources, test them for trust and bias, and reason their way to a conclusion, so history rests on checked evidence, not belief.

Think About It

Your class photo from last year: is it a primary or a ? What could it tell a historian in 50 years, and what would it leave out?
Why might two honest eyewitnesses still give different accounts of the same event?
A source passes the credibility test but no other source supports it. Should a historian treat it as fact? Why or why not?