Discuss historical research covering the concept of primary sources, secondary sources internal and external criticism.

Course: Research Methods in Education

Course Code 8604    

Level: B.Ed Solved Assignment

 ANSWER

 

The Historical Research

Nevins  (1962) illustrates the use of hypotheses in the historical research of Edward Channing in answering the question, “Why did the Confederacy collapse in April 1865?”Chinning formulated four hypotheses and tested each one in light of evidence gathered from letters, diaries, and official records of the army and the government of the Confederacy. He hypothesized that the Confederacy collapsed because of

1.  The military defeat of the Confederate army

2.  The dearth of military supplies

3.  The starving condition of the Confederate soldiers and the civilians

4.  The disintegration of the will to continue the war

Channing produced evidence that seemed to refute the first three hypotheses. More than 200,000 well-equipped soldiers were under arms at the time of the surrender, the effective production of powder and arms provided sufficient military supplies to continue the war, and enough food was available to sustain fighting men and civilians.

Channing concluded that hypothesis 4, the disintegration of the will to continue the war was substantiated by the excessive number of desertions of enlisted men and officers. Confederate military officials testified that they had intercepted many letters from home urging the soldiers to desert.

Although the hypothesis sustained was not specific enough to be particularly helpful, the rejection of the first three did claim to dispose of some commonly held explanations. This example illustrates a historical study in which hypotheses were explicitly stated.

 

Primary Sources of Educational Data

Many of the old materials mentioned in the preceding section provide primary evidence that may be useful specifically in studying the history of education. A number are listed here. Official  Records and  Other  Documentary  Materials.  Included in this category are records and reports of legislative bodies and state departments of public instruction, city superintendents, principals, presidents, deans, department heads, educational committees, minutes of school boards and boards of trustees, surveys, charters, deeds, wills, professional and lay periodicals, school newspapers, annuals, bulletins, catalogs, courses of study, curriculum guides, athletic game records, programs (for graduation, dramatic, musical, and athletic events), licenses, certificates, textbooks, examinations, report cards, pictures, drawings, maps, letters, diaries, autobiographies, teacher and pupil personnel files, samples of student work, and recordings.

Oral  Testimony.  Included here are interviews with administrators, teachers, and other school employees, students and relatives, school patrons or lay dozens, and members of governing bodies. Relics.  Included in this category are buildings, furniture, teaching materials, equipment, murals, decorative pictures, textbooks, examinations, and samples of student work

 

Secondary Source of Data

Secondary sources are the reports of a person who relates the testimony of an actual witness of, or participant in, an event. The writer of the secondary source was not on the scene of the event but merely reported what the person who was there said or wrote.

Secondary sources of data are usually of limited worth for research purposes because of the errors that may result when information is passed on from one person to another most history textbooks and encyclopedias are examples of secondary sources for they are often several times removed from the original, firsthand account of events.

Some types of material may be secondary sources for some purposes and primary sources for others. For example, a high school textbook in American history is ordinarily a secondary source. But if one were making a study of the changing emphasis on nationalism in high school American history textbooks, the book would be a primary document or source of data.

 

External Criticism

External criticism establishes the authenticity or genuineness of data. Is the relic or document a true one rather than a forgery a counterfeit, or a hoax? Various tests of genuineness may be employed.

Establishing the age or authorship of documents may require intricate tests of signature, handwriting, script, type, spelling, language usage, documentation, knowledge available at the time, and consistency with what is known. It may involve physical and chemical tests of ink, paint, paper, parchment, cloth, stone, metals, or wood. Are these elements consistent with known facts about the person, the knowledge available, and the technology of the period in which they remain or the document originated?

Internal Criticism

After the authenticity of historical documents or relics has been established, there is still the problem of evaluating their accuracy or worth. Although they may be genuine, do they reveal a true picture? What of the writers or creators. Were they competent, honest, unbiased, and actually acquainted with the facts, or were they too antagonistic or too sympathetic to give a true picture? Did they have any motives for distorting the account? Were they subject to pressure, fear, or vanity? How long after the event did they make a record of their testimony, and were they able to remember accurately what happened? Were they in agreement with other competent witnesses? These questions are often difficult to answer, but the historian must be sure that the data are authentic and accurate. Only then may he or she introduce them as historical evidence, worthy of serious consideration.

The following examples describe ways in which evidence is tested for authenticity. The first is an example of historical criticism of a scholarly type, carried on by scientists and biblical scholars, in which historic documents were proven to be genuine.