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Year 9 NSW
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Investigating history
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Historical inquiry
Topic : Historical inquiry
In this topic you will learn...
Chapter 1 :
Sources as evidence: fact, fiction or opinion; primary or secondary
As historians we have to do detective work to help us in our investigations
Looking at sources is a major part of that detective work
Anything can be a source as long as it gives us some information
There are two types of source that a historian can use, they are primary and secondary
A primary source is created at the time of the event the historian is studying
A secondary source is created after the time the historian is studying
Sources are great clues to the past as they give us lots of information
We have to be careful when we use sources
We have to be sure what a source is based on. Is it fact, fiction or someone's opinion?
The most important thing to remember is to never rely on just one source
Chapter 2 :
Accuracy and perspective
A historian finds out as much as information as he or she can about an event.
Historians ask the 'W' questions; who, what, when, where, why and how
Through answering these questions, historians come up with a hypothesis (theory)
They then have to try to prove that hypothesis
This is when looking at the accuracy of a source, is very important
It is also important to know from what perspective the source has been created
Historians always try to find out as much as possible about a source and who created it
When they know more about it, they can trust the source enough to use it as evidence
A source can be affected by its creator
Where the person lives, how they grew up, can affect their viewpoint
Chapter 3 :
Cause and effect and context
Things rarely happen without a reason
Part of investigating history is discovering
why
things happen and their results
This is called cause and effect
Historians look for cause and effect as it helps explain what happened and why
An unreliable source can still be of use to historians if the source is put into context
Context means looking at the source in its surroundings
When it was created, who created it, and why it was created, are important
When someone creates propaganda it is often to influence people to think a certain way
You should always try to understand why a source was created
You should consider what the person who created the source was trying to say
Chapter 4 :
Historical inquiry: people, motive, and consequences
Sources help us reach a better understanding of how people lived in the past
When we know more about a culture we can then understand more about it
We can understand why wars happened, why civilisations rose or fell
Just one person can change the course of history
We cannot study history without studying the people who have changed it
As historians we are looking for cause and effect, what made something else happen
Just like detectives investigating a crime, historians are looking for a motive
History is also about studying the consequences of people's motives and their actions
When investigating history, remember to look for effect, as well as cause
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