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Course: History 1 Mexico (2025): Assessing Secondary Sources

Why do we assess secondary sources?

You want to find out quickly if:

It is a reliable source
It gives you new information
It could help you answer your research question.

How do we assess secondary sources?

Who? Who wrote this? Can you find their name? Or the name of the organization?

When? When was it published? Does it matter?

Where? Where did you find it? In the library, database, or a general online search? Where did the author get their information?

What? What does it tell you about your topic?

Why? Why is it useful to your research?

Video: Assessing Secondary Sources

Source Assessment Tool

Source Assessment Tool
Make a copy of this tool to assess your sources.

Notetaking

Taking effective research notes (Rampolla, 10th edition)
Read the this advice from Rampolla! Here is the advice from your librarians:
(1) Read with purpose: always keep your research question in mind!
(2) Take most of your notes in the form of summaries
(3) Copy quotations accurately
(4) Always record complete bibliographic information for your sources including where you found it: Ebsco, UHS Library, JStor. If you are using a text where page numbers are included, always note them.