Tests of Historical Evidence How do we decide whether a piece of the past provdes trustworthy support for our interpretation? We consider the following elements of event.
- Relevance: Does the evidence relate to or bear directly on the claim being made?
- Recency/Currency: Has the situation described by the evidence changed? Has the evidence been superseded by more recent findings?
- Authenticity: Is the source what it appears to be or is it a fraud or forgery?
- Identification: Is the source's origin (author) clearly identified? Historians do not rely on "anonymous."
- Expertise: Is the source qualified to provide this evidence? Sources may be qualified by training, education, or by experience with the topic of the evidence.
- Bias: Does the source have a material interest in the topic or an ideological position that might distort the evidence?
- Internal Consistency: Does the evidence contradict itself?
- External Consistency: Is the evidence consistent with outside qualified sources? Can it be corroborated by other sources?
Apply these tests of evidence as you develop your own historical interpretations. That's what an intellectual inquirer does. That's the goal we have for you.
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