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Main Idea
The main topic of the video is the process of source analysis in historical studies, detailing how to analyze historical sources effectively using specific skills. -
Key Points
Point 1: Source analysis involves understanding the reasons behind the creation of historical sources, including who created them and for what purpose.
Point 2: There are six specific skills needed for source analysis, summarized with the acronym IOP CAM (Information, Origin, Perspective, Context, Audience, Motive).
Point 3: An effective source analysis can often be written in just two sentences, addressing the IOP and CAM elements separately.
Point 4: Conducting background research is essential for successful source analysis.
Point 5: The video provides an example of a photograph from the Great Depression to illustrate the source analysis process. -
Vocabulary
Word 1: Source analysis - The process of examining historical sources to understand their context and significance.
Word 2: Perspective - The viewpoint or bias from which a source is created, influenced by the author's background and experiences.
Word 3: Motive - The reason why the source was created, including what the author hoped to achieve by producing it. -
Questions
Question 1: What are some common challenges students face when analyzing historical sources?
Question 2: How can understanding the perspective and motive of a source change our interpretation of historical events? -
Connections
Connection 1: This video connects to my previous knowledge of critical reading skills, where understanding the author's intent and context is also important.
Connection 2: It relates to my interest in historiography, as analyzing sources is a fundamental part of examining how history is written and interpreted. -
Reflection
I found it interesting how a simple acronym (IOP CAM) can help structure the analysis process, making it more manageable. This information can be used in real life for evaluating information critically, not just in history but in other contexts such as news articles, research papers, or any media content. Understanding the context and motives behind information can lead to a more informed perspective.
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when studying history you'll be
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frequently asked to analyze historical
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sources however many people don't know
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what this means or how to do it in this
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video I'll explain what source analysis
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is give you a step-by-step guide to
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follow and show you some examples to
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help you out let's begin
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[Music]
History Skills
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welcome back to another history skills
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video today we're looking at how to
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analyze historical sources source
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analysis is one of the most important
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skills you'll need to develop when
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studying the past and mastering it will
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help you achieve your best possible
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results so what is source analysis
What is 'source analysis'?
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source analysis is the ability to
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demonstrate a genuine understanding
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about why a particular historical source
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was made it was important to remember
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that all historical sources were created
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for a reason even though we usually read
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sources in class to help learn about the
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past almost no historical sources were
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originally made just to be read by
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students decades or centuries after they
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were created therefore we use source
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analysis to discover why a specific
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historical source came into existence
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including who originally made it who
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they initially wanted to read it plus
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more
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therefore source analysis involves much
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more than just reading a historical
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source
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it also requires you to conduct
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background research to discover who the
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author was and find out what was
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happening at the time the source was
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made by the way you are not meant to
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automatically know all of this
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information most of the time you'll need
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to do some research about your source to
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successfully analyze it if you need help
Do some research about your source.
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online archives and even Wikipedia can
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be helpful in conducting your background
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research to provide a complete analysis
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of your source there are six specific
The six analysis skills
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source analysis skills you need to use
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they are information origin perspective
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context audience and motive an easy way
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to remember these six skills is to use
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the acronym IOP can I've actually
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created individual videos about each of
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these six skills they go into much
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greater depth about each one so if
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you're struggling with a specific skill
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you can find the links to each of the
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additional videos in the description
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section below in order to demonstrate a
Steps to analysing a source
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sufficient knowledge of the six
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announcer skills you need to be able to
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answer the following six questions one
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for each skill firstly what information
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is stated in the source about the
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historical topic you're studying
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remember a source can either explicitly
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state information or implicitly mention
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something secondly what was the name of
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the person or people who created the
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source thirdly from what perspective was
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the source created fourthly when was the
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source created and what was happening at
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this time
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v who is the intended audience of the
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source and finally for what purpose was
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this source made sometimes you may not
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be able to answer all of these questions
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but you want to be able to complete as
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many as possible once you've answered
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these six questions you are ready to
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write your full source analysis so how
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do you write a source analysis a source
Writing an analysis paragraph
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analysis is usually a short paragraph
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that demonstrates all of the knowledge
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that you have discovered about the
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historical source a simple source
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analysis can be written in just two
An analysis can be just two sentences using IOP CAM
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sentences using the IOP cam acronym from
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before in the first sentence mention the
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IOP part of the acronym which is
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information origin and perspective for
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example this source is a personal letter
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that describes what trench warfare was
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like during World War 1 and was written
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by John Smith and Australian soldier in
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your second sentence mention the cam
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part of the acronym that is context
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audience and motive for example Smith
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wrote the letter on the 26th of April
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1915 the day after the Gallipoli landing
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to record his experience of the battle
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and was to be read by his family in
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Australia as you can see you can
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demonstrate significant knowledge of a
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source by writing an analysis paragraph
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like this of course you can use more
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than two sentences if you need to now
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that you know what source analysis is
Example
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and how to do it let's look at a full
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example to increase your confidence in
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the process the historical source we're
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going to analyze in this example is a
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very famous photograph from the Great
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Depression after doing some background
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research online we were able to go
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through the six elements of IOP km
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information the image shows a mother and
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her children who are suffering economic
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hardship as a result of the Great
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Depression
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origin the photograph was taken by
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someone called Dorothea Lange
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perspective after some background
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research we discovered that Dorothea
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Lange was an American photojournalist
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context the photo was taken in March
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1936 which was in the middle of the
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Great Depression in America audience
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Lane took the photograph as part of her
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job working for the federal government's
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resettlement administration however we
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also discovered that her photographs
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were intended to be published in
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newspapers for the general public to see
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motive
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the reason this photograph was taken was
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to raise public awareness of the
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economic toll of the depression and the
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need for a solution now that we have
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answered each of the six questions we
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can tie them all together and write a
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two-sentence source analysis here is the
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result the photograph by the American
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photojournalist Dorothea Lange shows the
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economic struggles caused by the Great
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Depression on a specific mother and her
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children this image was taken in 1936 as
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part of a photographic campaign for the
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federal government's resettlement
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administration to raise public awareness
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through the publication of the
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photograph in newspapers across America
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now that you have a better understanding
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of what source analysis is I hope that
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you feel more confident in your studies
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if you need further explanations
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examples and advice head over to the
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history skills comm website and I'll see
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you next time
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[Music]
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[Music] 1. Main Idea
What is the main topic or theme of the video?
2. Key Points
List 3-5 key points or important facts from the video:
Point 1:
Point 2:
Point 3:
Point 4:
Point 5:
3. Vocabulary
Write down any new or important vocabulary words:
Word 1: Definition
Word 2: Definition
4. Questions
What questions do you have after watching the video?
Question 1:
Question 2:
5. Connections
How does the video connect to what you already know or other things you’ve learned?
Connection 1:
Connection 2:
6. Reflection
What did you find most interesting or surprising in the video?
How might you use the information from this video in real life?
1 answer