Fall 2018 Course Syllabi

HIST 220: North Dakota History 28 Appendix 5: Secondary Source Questions Secondary Source Analysis: Questions PREP • Who is the author? • What are his/her credentials? • Who is the publisher? OBSERVE • CONTENT: o What topic is the author addressing? o What is the time period? o What is the author’s thesis? o Who are the key people? o What are the key events? o What are the key subjects? • METHOD: o How does the writer build her/his argument? o How has the author structured his/her work? o What evidence does the author use to support his/her thesis and/or claims? o Is the evidence based on primary sources or mostly other secondary sources? o How reliable or accurate is the source? o What question(s) are raised by the sources? o When/if the author discusses others’ interpretations of the topic, who are the key scholars included? o What analytical or theoretical framework does the author use to analyze the sources? o Are facts and opinions clearly identified? REFLECT • INTENT: o Why might the author have written this work? • CONTEXT: o How does the author place her/his book in the “big picture”? o What is the big historical question the work is addressing? o Which historians is the author in conversation with? • RECEPTION: o What is the target audience? QUESTION o What do you wonder about... who? · what? · when? · where? · why? · how? o How feasible are facts and interpretations? o Where is the author's argument strong or convincing? o Where is the author's argument weak or vulnerable? o How might this book/article help your own research?