OPVL

Guidance

SOURCES

academic websites

photos

books

textbooks

interviews

government websites

newspaper article

magazines

maps

videos

Different types of sources include:

PRIMARY & SECONDARY

Primary sources

first-hand account

person was there

he/she took the photo, painted the painting, etc.

emotional

can be subjective

Secondary sources

written after the event

person did not experience it him/herself

benefit of hindsight

analysis of primary source

usually objective

OPVL

What is OPVL?

Origin

Purpose

Value

Limitations

When do we use these?

ORIGIN

What is it?

Who created it?

When was it created?

Where was it created?

PURPOSE

Why was it created?

Who is the intended audience?

VALUE

How valuable the source is depends on why you are using it.

Why is this a good source?

A photo is valuable because it is a visual representation of a specific scene; we can see the information

A personal letter or diary entry tells us personal views & opinions of that time

An academic website is valuable because it gives us facts, statistics and current information about a country/situation/event; it’s been well researched and referenced

A map is valuable because it shows us the current (political) boundaries of a region/nation

Newspaper & TV reports can give publicly held views, popular opinion, expert’s views and contemporary opinion.

LIMITATIONS

The limitations of a source depends on why you are using it.

What are the problems with this source? What don’t we know?

The limitations of a photo is you cannot see beyond the ‘lens’, or what happened before/after; can be staged; does not provide facts, data, etc.

The limitations of a letter is that it’s a personal opinion, therefore this may not be public opinion; writer’s opinion may change; facts may be skewed.

An academic website may not have first-hand (personal) stories.

A map does not show specific information other than country/city/town; cannot find more specific facts and information

Newspaper & TV reports may be one-sided; may be censored; may only give overview

LET’S PRACTICEOrigin:

Purpose:

Value:

Limitations:

23 missing as Typhoon Utor hits Philippines, photo found in the above news article, from The News, on Aug. 12, 2013.

~Photograph taken on Aug 12, 2013. The source is found in The News, an online newspaper~Primary source

~To show the impacts of Typhoon Utor; a visual representation~The intended audience is those who read a daily newspaper

~We can see the impacts at a glance (we don’t need to read a long article to get an idea); how it impacted the Philippines~Immediate and up-to-date visual

~We are not given facts and data about this typhoon or any typhoon (is this what always happens?)~We do not know what this scene looked like before or after this photo~We do not know how this typhoon affected other countries

Let’s practice with another!

Origin: Value:

Purpose: Limitations:

~A website, U.S Geological Survey (USGS)~Secondary source~Online source but an American-based site

~Inform~Educate~The intended audience is students (high school & university), geologists, and/or people interestedin these topics

~It’s online so it’s accessible to everyone (almost)~A website can be updated frequently~It can provide up-to-date information about geological subjects~Well-researched by experts

~As it is an American website, is there a strong focus on American geological topics?~Is this above my reading level?

YOUR TURN:Source A: An excerpt from an interview found on Teen Ink (online), published Jan. 12. 2011.

When did you realize that you were experiencing an earthquake? Can you describe how you felt?

I first noticed something was wrong when our bus started rocking violently. It was a very bumpy road, and at first I brushed it off as a pothole. But then, of course, it didn't stop, so I knew something was up. I looked around, and everyone seemed just as confused as I was. When I looked through my window I saw that the trees were swaying and pelting mangoes as if there was a huge gust of wind.

Suddenly, a telephone pole fell in front of the bus, and its wires came down right against the window. Shocked, I looked over at my dad, and behind him I saw a massive wall crumble and fall just inches from his seat. It was then that I realized it was an earthquake. I thought, What are we going to do? What does it look like beyond this small dirt road? At that moment, I worried most about our safety.

We were afraid to go into our rooms because of the constant aftershocks. As selfish as it sounds, I was terrified and just wanted to go home!

What happened right after the earthquake? What did you do? What did you see? How did you feel then?

Right after the earthquake we all got out of the bus and waited for the other half of our group to arrive. While watching all the people go by, I couldn't help but cry. I was so scared and I didn't know what to think. With each aftershock, I grew more and more afraid.

On that one small road alone there was so much destruction! Telephone poles were down, homes had collapsed, and the air was gray with dust from the cinder blocks and concrete. On other streets the destruction was even more apparent. Large buildings were reduced to rubble, and those still standing were drastically lopsided and cracked.

All around were crying Haitians who had lost everything and didn't know what to do. The destruction that an earthquake can cause is completely unbelievable.

What is the OPVL of each source?

Source B: Published in 2012