History Source Investigation

Source Investigator Worksheet

An important part of being an historian is acting as a detective and investigating your sources before using them in a paper. In this activity, you are the detective! To use a source effectively, you will need to understand everything you can about it, including author, the relation of the author to the subject they’re writing about, what the source says, and so on.

Answering these questions below is an important first step in writing your final paper!

Part I: Primary Source Investigation!

1. What is the name of your source and when was it produced?

The name of my primary source is Men & Girls Die in Waist Factory Fire. This is an article written in The New York Times newspaper on March 26, 1911.

2. Who was the author/creator of this document and how are they related to the event they are talking about?

The author/creator of this document is a New York Times newspaper reporter. It is his or her job to report on important events that occur in the area covered by the newspaper. Reporters are trained to investigate the events that they cover. They have to get as many facts as quickly as possible and put them into a concise story for their readers. This author seems to be familiar with the area where the fire occurred. He or she has probably covered many events in the same area. This helps the reporter to convey to the readers what the scene of the fire was like.

3. How credible is the author on their subject and what are some potential biases they may have had?

The author seems to be very credible on the subject of the fire that killed many workers of the Triangle Waist Company. He or she has apparently done a lot of investigating into the circumstances involved with this conflagration. He or she supplied many facts about the building itself, the company, its owners and the workers. There was precise information about the fire, such as how it started and how it spread.

He or she painted...