Historians use evidence from primary and secondary sources and oral histories to answer their questions. They have to choose what information is most important and trustworthy as evidence. Historical evidence is not always simple. Sometimes what historians thought to be true turns out to be false.

Simply put, additive sculpture is the process of creating sculpture by adding material to create the work. Although artists have worked in every medium from butter to cement, the most common material is typically wax or clay which is modeled by the artist to create the form desired.

Critical Questions

• Who is the creator/author/source/publisher of the information? What are the author’s credentials or affiliations?
• Is the author’s expertise related to the subject? Are they an authority on the topic through education, experience, or expertise in the field?
• Whose voices/viewpoints are not being heard?

Primary sources can be described as those sources that are closest to the origin of the information. Secondary sources often use generalizations, analysis, interpretation, and synthesis of primary sources. Examples of secondary sources include textbooks, articles, and reference books

Secondary evidence is evidence that has been reproduced from an original document or substituted for an original item. For example, a photocopy of a document or photograph would be considered secondary evidence. Courts prefer original, or primary, evidence. They try to avoid using secondary evidence wherever possible.

Primary sources are documents, images or artifacts that provide firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning an historical topic under research investigation. Primary sources are original documents created or experienced contemporaneously with the event being researched.

Primary Sources. A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of art. Published materials can be viewed as primary resources if they come from the time period that is being discussed, and were written or produced by someone with firsthand experience of the event.

Primary sources help students relate in a personal way to events of the past and promote a deeper understanding of history as a series of human events. Because primary sources are incomplete snippets of history, each one represents a mystery that students can only explore further by finding new pieces of evidence.

Academic journal articles are probably the most reliable source of current thinking in your field. To be the most reliable they need to be peer reviewed. This means that other academics have read them before publication and checked that they are making claims that are backed up by their evidence.

Pros: Perhaps the greatest advantage of primary research is that it allows the researcher to obtain original data that are current and highly specific to his or her needs. Cons:  Because of the processes involved, primary research can be very time-consuming, sometimes requiring months or even years

Scholars writing about historical events, people, objects, or ideas produce secondary sources because they help explain new or different positions and ideas about primary sources. These secondary sources generally scholarly books, including textbooks, articles, encyclopedias, and anthologies.

Examples of primary sources include diaries, personal journals, government records, court records, property records, newspaper articles, military reports, military rosters, and many other things. In contrast, a secondary source is the typical history book which may discuss a person, event or other historical topic.

Secondary sources were created by someone who did not experience first-hand or participate in the events or conditions you’re researching. For a historical research project, secondary sources are generally scholarly books and articles. A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources

These are sources that index, abstract, organize, compile, or digest other sources. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered tertiary sources when their chief purpose is to list, summarize or simply repackage ideas or other information.

Secondary sources can include books, journal articles, speeches, reviews, research reports, and more. Generally speaking, secondary sources are written well after the events that are being researched.

In contrast, a secondary source of information is one that was created later by someone who did not experience first-hand or participate in the events or conditions you’re researching. For the purposes of a historical research project, secondary sources are generally scholarly books and articles