OPCVL Guide 4

How to OPVL
What is the • Who created it? Who is the author?
Origin? • What occupation did the author have? What is their social status?
• When was it created? When was it published?
• Where was it published? (If it was reprinted, look at the original source, not
where/when it was reprinted.)
• Where is the document from? What country, state, or city?
• Who is publishing it?
• Is there anything we know about the author that is pertinent to our evaluation?
• What specific type of source is this?

What is the • Why does this document exist?

Purpose? • Why did the author create this piece of work? What is the intent?
• Why did the author choose this particular format?
• Who is the intended audience? Who was the author thinking would receive this?
• What does the document “say”? Can it tell you more than is on the surface?

What is the Value? • What can we learn from this document?

• What can we tell about the author from the piece?
• What can we tell about the time period from the piece?
• What does it reveal about society? Education? Government? Work? Home life?
• Under what circumstances was the piece created and how does the piece reflect
those circumstances?
• What can we tell about any controversies from the piece?
• Does the author represent a particular “side” of a controversy or event?
• What can we tell about the author’s perspectives from the piece?
• Is the author well placed to know the specific facts he/she relates?
• What was going on in history at the time the piece was created and how does this
piece accurately reflect it?
• Does the date of the source make the facts in the source more valuable?
• Does the time in which it was written make the opinions in the documents more
valuable?
• How does the reason for which the author is communicating to their audience tell
the readers something they want to know?

What are the • At what point does this source cease to be of value to us as historians?
Limitations? • What part of the story can we NOT tell from this document?
• Do the source require verification? How could we verify the content of the piece?
• Does this piece inaccurately reflect anything about the time period?
• What does the author leave out and why does he/she leave it out?
• What is purposely not addressed?
• Is the author poorly placed to know the specific facts he/she relates? Why?
• Are there specific opinions the reader should be careful about based upon who the
author is?
• Does the date when the source was produced place limitations upon the specific
facts in the source? Upon opinions expressed?
• How does the reason for which the author is communicating to their audience give
readers a reason to be cautious about veracity or over-generalizations in the
document?
OPCVL Guide 5

OPVL for common types of sources

Document Type Origin Purpose Value Limitations
• Nationality of the • Scholarship? • Objectivity • Topic may have only been briefly
Biography biographer? • Objectivity? • Thoroughly researched researched if it is a small part of the
• The relationship • For students of history • Access to a wide range of sources person’s life
between and for the general and evidence • Justification for actions/ decisions
biographer and the public interested in • Hindsight • May not have had access to the full
person? history and in the lives • New evidence range of sources (for example, if
• Where was it of important people? • Analysis of events and of a published in the West before the
published? • To revise previous person’s contributions opening of Soviet archives in 1991)
• When was it interpretations of this • Biographer may be influenced by their
published? person’s life? experience, politics or context
• To present an • Biographer may be writing to entertain –
alternative view? may not have grasp of historical context
• Was it drawn at the • An interpretation of • A reflection of public opinion at the • Biased, influence by the opinion and
Cartoon time? events at the time? time in one of the countries prejudices of its creator – produced by
• Nationality of the • Political comment for involved an artist with a definite point of view
artist? readers about • Insightful analysis of events and • Opinionated
• In which particular events or policies • Does not show the evidence to support
newspaper or policies? • When governments or regimes opinion
journal did it • Propaganda? censor the press, can be used to • May reflect uninformed public opinion
originally appear? • If published in another portray the government’s line • May not reflect general public opinion –
country, is it a positive niche position
or negative comment • Play on stereotypes and exaggeration
which reflects that • Could be limited to the viewpoint of the
country’s public newspaper or periodical where
opinion? published
• Who wrote it? • Private reflection? • Content • Personal involvement could lead to
Diary or Journal • Was this person a • Private reflection with • Eyewitness account mistruths, omissions, justifications for
Entry key individual? the view to being • If person was part of the decision- actions and undue emphasis placed on
• When in the course published later in a making process – can suggest certain events
of events was it memoir? motives for public actions • Might be written with a view to later
written? • Attempts to justify • Intimate glimpse into the lives of publication and therefore wanting to
actions? individuals experiencing historical appear in a positive light
events • Limited in scope – One viewpoint/ one
• Offers insight into personal views interpretation
or opinions • Molded by the opinions, prejudices, and
• Could be candid and honest cultural standpoint of the author
• Valuable as a study of the • Needs to be cross-referenced with
personality by whom it was written other primary sources
OPCVL Guide 6

Document Type Origin Purpose Value Limitations

• Was it drawn at the • Art for art’s sake, or • Can capture spirit of a time • Limited to the viewpoint and experience
Drawings or time? produced for • Contain evidence about culture at a of the artist
Paintings • Nationality of the commercial specific moment – customs, styles, • Influenced by the opinions and
artist? distribution? preferences, atmosphere, prejudices of its creator
• Commissioned by • Published / displayed architecture, dress, appearance, • Limited scope – generally highlights one
whom? somewhere? etc. specific aspect of a period of history
• Examples of art styles of the time • If portrait – may only reflect upper class
• Posed
• Artist not generally concerned with
providing a factual account, but rather
with producing a creative piece of work
or expressing own opinions or emotions
• Nationality of the • Scholarship? • Objectivity • Topic may have been only briefly
History Text historian? • Objectivity? • Thoroughly researched researched if extract is only a small part
• Where was it • For students of history • Access to a wide range of sources of general history text
published? and for the general and evidence • May not have had access to the full
• When was it public interested in • Professionals, experts in the field range of sources (for example, if
published? history? • Have the benefit of hindsight which published in the West before the
• To present original contemporary sources do not opening of Soviet archives in 1991)
research? • New evidence • Might be expert in another region or era
• To revise previous • Analysis of cause and effect • May be influenced by their experience,
interpretations of the politics or context
period or events?
• To present an
alternative view?
• Broad or narrow
focus?
• Who wrote it? • Recipient? • Content • Personal involvement could lead to
Letter • Was this person a • Private and candid • Eyewitness account mistruths, omissions, justifications for
key individual? comments between • If person was part of the decision- actions and undue emphasis placed on
• When in the course individuals? making process – can suggest certain events
of events was it • Not necessarily motives for public actions • Molded by the opinions, prejudices, and
written? intended for public • Intimate glimpse into the lives of cultural standpoint of the author
consumption? individuals experiencing historical • Selective by nature – more important to
• Attempts to justify events note what is excluded than included
actions? • Offers insight into personal views • Informal/personal opinions, not public or
• Attempts to persuade or opinions official views
the recipient to follow a • Could be candid and honest • May be intended to persuade the
course or action? recipient
• Needs to be cross-referenced with
other primary sources
OPCVL Guide 7

Document Type Origin Purpose Value Limitations

• Whose memoir/ • Attempt to justify • Content • Personal involvement could lead to
Memoir memories? actions? • Eyewitness account mistruths, omissions, justifications for
Recollections • Was this person a • Attempt to remember • If person was part of the decision- actions and undue emphasis on certain
key individual? details of events for making process – can suggest events
• How long after the later generations? motives for public actions • Written for publication and therefore
period was the • For the general public? • Insight into personal views or wanting to appear in a positive light
memoir published opinions • May be written to apologize for/ justify
or the memories • Could be candid and honest author’s opinions or actions/inactions
recounted? • Could be a source of valuable • Details/ memory may have become
information that otherwise would be blurred with passage of time
lost • Memories may be molded to conform to
• Valuable as a study of the views evolved since then (with
personality by whom it was written hindsight)
• Needs to be cross-references with other
primary sources
• Was the article • An interpretation of • Reflection of public opinion at the • Editorials – biased or opinionated
Newspaper Article written at the time? events at the time time in one of the countries • Does not show evidence to support
or Editorial • Or was it written • Political comment for involved assertions
later? readers about • Insightful analysis of events and • May reflect uninformed public opinion
• Nationality of the particular events or policies • Could be politically influenced or could
journalist? policies? • Can provide information on the be censored by specific governments
• In which • Propaganda? society and its culture or politics or regimes
newspaper did it • If published in another • Can provide a daily record of • Might only give an overview
originally appear? country, is it a positive events occurring in history • Might be too recent of an event – not all
or negative comment • Provide information on what the the information is known
which reflects that public knew at the time • Commercial motives – exaggeration/
country’s public sensationalism to sell papers?
opinion? • Political agenda of publication
• Political stance of
publication?
OPCVL Guide 8

Document Type Origin Purpose Value Limitations

• Which institution • Public statement of • Content • Propaganda?
Official published this official policies? • Statement of official policy • Exaggerations?
Government material? • Classified document? • Might show the government’s • Only shows one aspect of government
Document • Was this document • Propaganda? position or stance on an issue policy
a significant • Facts omitted or • Reaction to various events • Does not show reasons or motives
document at the exaggerated to suit the • Statement of intention behind policy
time? audience? • If never intended for disclosure, • Does not show how or whether the
• Viewpoint of a specific might provide a candid glimpse into policy was actually implemented
administration? the inner workings of a government • Could have been manipulated to
• Could be purely factual, solid, conceal information / maintain image of
reliable the government concerned
• Might be a well-informed analysis • Only what the government allows the
public to know
• Very sensitive information can be
classified for many years
• Whose memories? • Why were memories • Eyewitness account • Aging of individual – physical and
Oral History • Who collected the recorded? • Provides information about people, mental deterioration of subject must be
history? • Candid recollections? especially minority groups, who taken into account (memory loss,
• How was it • Part of oral tradition? might have been excluded from trauma)
published? By a • Interview for mainstream publications or didn’t • Identity of interviewer may affect what is
specific institution? publication? leave behind written accounts shared by interviewee
• Time removed from • Preserves details of historical • Details/ memory may have become
event? legacies that may not be included blurred with passage of time
in written accounts • Memories may be molded to conform to
• Opinions of people who views evolved since then (with
experienced a period of history hindsight)
• Needs to be cross-references with other
primary sources
• Who took the • Was it originally for • Snapshot pf a moment in time • Propaganda
Photograph photo? private use or the • Shows how people lived/ dressed/ • Posed
• Under what public? acted • Photographer has personal biases and
conditions was the • Private family photo? • Could be a source of valuable prejudices – consciously or
photo taken? • Posed? information that otherwise would be subconsciously reflected in work
• Propaganda? lost • Can be manipulated by the creator –
• Artistic purpose? • Can capture moments in history in edited, cropped, focused on certain
• Commercial use? vivid detail details, angle
• Can offer insight into immediate • Limited view might distort the bigger
response to or impact of an event picture
on particular people or a place
• Reflections of trends in artistic form
OPCVL Guide 9

Document Type Origin Purpose Value Limitations

• Nationality of • Art for art’s sake, or • Could inform contemporary opinion • Could be a “dissenting” voice (not
Poems or Novels author? produced for • Might offer insight into emotional popular opinion)
• Personal commercial responses and motive • Could have a political agenda
involvement of distribution? • Provide insight into the spirit and • Not solely concerned with providing a
author in historical • To entertain? culture of the time factual account – imagination and
events? • May chronicle experiences and creative license involved
• When in the course feelings of specific individuals • Flavored by biases of the creator
of events was it • Emotional appeal – allow readers to
created? identify closely with circumstances
of the time
• Reflection of trends in artistic form
• Who delivered the • Public statement of • Content • Personal involvement could lead to
Speech speech? thoughts, or of official • Statement of official policy mistruths, omissions, justifications for
• Was this person a policies? • Might show the government’s actions and undue emphasis on certain
key individual? • Propaganda? position or stance on an issue events
• When in the course • Facts omitted or • Statement of the individual’s • Propaganda?
of events did it exaggerated to suit the personal ideas and thoughts • Facts omitted or exaggerated to suit the
occur? audience? • Can offer insight into reasons for audience
• Where was the decisions – motives • Might not reveal dissent or divergent
speech delivered? • Reaction to various events opinion
• Who was the • Statement of intention • May not explain motives for a decision
audience? • Can show what the public is told or a political purpose
about an event or issue by • Needs to be cross-referenced with
government other primary sources

• Which institution • Public statement of • Content • Propaganda? Exaggeration?

Statistics published this official figures? • Statement of official figures • Only shows one set of figures
material? • Propaganda? • A historian’s summary of facts and • Margins of error must be taken into
• Was this document • Facts omitted or figures account
a significant exaggerated to suit the • If reliable, provide raw factual • Does not show the reasons behind the
document at the audience? evidence of historical trends statistics
time? • Statistics used to • Generally open to interpretation, • Does not show how these statistics
• Or is it/has it been illustrate a historian’s free of personal and cultural biases were collected
compiled by a point? • Might suggest correlations between • Might represent only a limited sampling,
historian as part of • Produced for a specific indicators, or reveal patterns not representative of general population
his/her analysis? purpose? • Allow for comparisons • May have been manipulated to
corroborate claims or present
something in a more positive light
• Accuracy must be questioned – needs
to be cross-referenced with other
sources