SANTELLA
Humanities Source Evaluation Form
Name of Source
Origin
•Who created the source?
•Where was it published?
•Is it a primary or secondary
source?
You must provide the academic credentials of the author or
the background of the group that published the piece; if you
cannot find anything on the author in the book, search the
Net. If you still cannot find information on your author, SAY
SO. It is not necessary to put in every academic post or
professorship the authors have held. If it was produced by an
organization, give some background information on that
organization (purpose/goals, when founded, etc)
Purpose
•What is the intent of the author?
•Why was this document
produced?
•Who is the intended audience?
•What is the authorʼs bias/
perspective?
The best authors will typically express purpose in the preface/
introduction/first chapter, though you may have to search for
the purpose, especially on primary sources. Also, you may
have to “read between the lines” to figure out the purpose of a
source, as some authors do not want you to know the specific
purpose. NOTE: even narratives have a purpose. If you
cannot locate a clearly articulated purpose, you may use
language such as: “It appears that the author’s purpose is…”
Value
•What makes this source
valuable to you or to others
interested in the topic?
Explain why this source is valuable in general, and address
why it is particularly important to your research. Make
specific references to the text and its sources; use quotes. You
may comment on footnotes of the book, what kinds of sources
the author used, etc. NOTE: even extremely biased sources
can be valuable. For example, they may show a meaningful
perspective on an issue.
Limitation
•What about this document
needs to be questioned?
•Why would someone use
caution when looking at this
document for evidence and
analysis?
Again, you must be specific, providing examples from the
text, quotes, etc. Limitations could include a critique of
sources; a critique of whether or not the coverage is too broad
to meet the author’s objectives; if the author is using out of
date scholarship, relying on only newspaper articles, etc. Has
the source been translated? Does it give a limited/biased
view? Do we not know the origin of the source? Could we
misinterpret the source? Do we know the context of the
source? Why might a historian need to show some degree of
caution using this source?
A few words on using BIAS to assess VALUES AND LIMITATIONS: Remember that all sources
are biased, none are completely objective. You need to provide a interpretation of how much
“bias” there is. Explain WHY the source is biased, and how this bias affects your research. If you
claim that the source is quite objective, be specific: Does the author present a balanced
perspective by providing multiple points of view? Does the author present statistical data that is
difficult to manipulate? Keep in mind that NO SOURCES ARE COMPLETELY OBJECTIVE, even
statistical data can be “massaged” to make a point.
Adapted from:
"IB History Internal Assessment." Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD. Web. 19 Oct.
2010. <http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/rmhs/departments/socialstudies/ibhistoryia/
sections.htm>.
SANTELLA
Name of Source
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Origin
•Who created the source?
•Where was it published?
•Is it a primary or secondary
source?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Purpose
•What is the intent of the author/
artist?
•Why was this document
produced?
•Who is the intended audience?
•What is the authorʼs bias/
perspective?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Value
•What makes this source
valuable to you or to others
interested in the topic?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Limitation
•What about this document
needs to be questioned?
•Why would someone use
caution when looking at this
document for evidence and
analysis?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Overall Assessment of the Source:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________