What Is Sourcing?
OER PROJECT: BIG HISTORY/ LESSON 1.2ACTIVITY WHAT IS SOURCING?Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “What Is Sourcing?,” OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeSourcing is an important part of being a historian. Sourcing helps historians understandwho wrote a document, where they wrote it, and why they wrote it. This activity will help you become familiar with the different categories of sourcing.Key Information •Source: A document (textbook, journal article, newspaper), image, or artifact that provides information and helps you understand what you are studying.•Primary source: A source that was created during the period that is being studied. Examples includebooks, letters or diaries, photographs, pottery, and clothing.•Secondary source: A source created by an authority—such as a historian—that analyzes and summarizes information using evidence, usually from primary sources. Examplesinclude textbooks, journal articles, and biographies.•Source citation:Information about the author, title, place of publication, and year published.Process1.Review thesource excerpts below and complete the table.Source excerptPrimary or secondary (circle one)“I shall make it the most agreeable part of my duty to study merit, and reward the brave and deserving.”Source citation:George Washington, Address to the Officers of the Virginia Regiment, January 8, 1756.PrimarySecondary
OER PROJECT: BIG HISTORY/ LESSON 1.2ACTIVITYWHAT IS SOURCING?2Source excerptPrimary or secondary (circle one)Source citation: Migration routes of early humans, OER Project, 2015. PrimarySecondarySource citation: Cave paintings at Lascaux, France, c. 17,000 years ago.PrimarySecondary“In Big History, scale means the perspective—big picture or little picture—we’re choosing to look at things.”Source citation: Trevor Getz, “Scale Switching,” OER Project: Big History, 2025.PrimarySecondary
OER PROJECT: BIG HISTORY/ LESSON 1.2ACTIVITYWHAT IS SOURCING?32.What do you think historians do when they analyze sources?3.Review the categories and questions that historians use to analyze primary and secondary sources. One way to remember what to think about when sourcing is by using the HAPPYacronym.HAPPY categoriesQuestionsHistorical context•What about the author’s location may have influenced the source(for example, the location’s geography, population, or the region’s political situation,religious influences, or industry)?•What events mayhave influenced the source’s creation?Audience•For whomwas the source created (that is, was this written for anyone to read or was it private, for one specific person or group)?•What were the readers of this source supposed to do or think once they read it?Purpose•What was the author’s goal, and what evidence supports your answer?POV (point of view)•Can you identify anything about the author that might explain why they wrote this? For example, does their economic class, occupation, religion, nationality, political group, ethnic group, or gender help explain why they wrote this?WhY(importance)•What is the main idea of the source?•What parts of this document are most valuable and why?•What are the limitations of this document? In other words, where does it fall short?4.Follow along as your teacher readsthe documents in What Is Sourcing? (Excerpts)to learnmore about a controversial new policy in Anytown, USA.
OER PROJECT: BIG HISTORY/ LESSON 1.2ACTIVITYWHAT IS SOURCING?45.As a class, determine which document is the best fit for each of the first four sourcing categories of HAPPY. (You’ll address the WHYwhen you’re more familiar with sourcing!) You can only choose one document for each category. Be prepared to defend your answer!CategoryDocument that is best fit for this category (write document #)Explain your answerHistorical contextAudiencePurposePOV (point of view)