When we first start researching, we’re often so delighted to find an ancestor listed in a source that we may not do much in the way of source analysis. If you’ve ever found an ancestor on a list of Revolutionary War veterans or a Mayflower passenger listed on a family tree, you probably know this feeling. Yet, you may also have been later disappointed to discover that the source you initially thought was accurate was wrong.
Source analysis can help. Source analysis looks at not only what the source says says, but why it says that. It asks you as a researcher to consider:
- Why was this source created?
- What was the purpose of the source?
- Was there a guideline that determined what or who was to be included in the source or left out?
- Was it a law?
- Was it social, religious, or other prejudice?
- Was it another factor?
- Who provided the information?
- Were they likely to have accurate knowledge of what is being recorded?
- What motivations might they have had in providing the information they did?
- Did they achieve a financial benefit by telling the truth (or by lying)?
- Were they shaped by assumptions about social practices, racism, or more?
- How well has the source been maintained?
- Was all of the source protected or was part damaged?
- Is the source likely complete or missing information?
Source analysis can help you go beyond what’s written on the page to consider why it was written there. This can be a helpful way to determine why an ancestor wasn’t mentioned in a source – for example, the 1818 Revolutionary War pension law required a poverty test – or evaluate the evidence when sources seem to conflict.