ALA's Guide to Questions to Ask about a Primary Source
- What is the source and what is it telling you?
- Who is the author or creator?
- What biases or assumptions may have influenced the author or creator?
- Who was the intended audience?
- What was the significance of the source at the time it was created?
- Has the source been edited or translated, thus potentially altering the original intent or purpose?
- What questions could be answered using this source?
- What, if any, are the limitations of the source?
- Does your understanding of the source fit with other scholars’ interpretations, or does it challenge their argument?
