The Tool Desk
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1. Define the question and list the claims
Start with the question the article needs to answer—not a pile of search results. Then list the claims the finished article would make, including names, dates, places, numbers, quotations, causes, and statements about what people intended or believed.
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Separate what a record directly says from what you infer from it. A document may establish that someone wrote a particular statement on a certain date; by itself, it may not prove the statement was true or that the writer’s explanation captures their motive. Claims tied to an identifiable record are often easier to verify than broad interpretations, so make interpretations explicit rather than disguising them as facts.
2. Find sources that can answer the question
Search for evidence near the claim: national, regional, and local archives; libraries and special collections; museums; government records; historical societies; and relevant private collections. Depending on the subject, useful material can include official documents, letters, diaries, newspapers, photographs, oral histories, interviews, objects, and records created by organizations. These sources answer different questions and have different limits.
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For a practical starting point, the U.S. National Archives’ “History in the Raw” discusses finding and working with primary sources, including government and private records, diaries, interviews, local historical groups, archives, and museums. Its examples are U.S.-focused; for another place or topic, look for the relevant national, regional, or local repositories.
3. Use primary and secondary sources for different jobs
A primary source is evidence created in the period or by a participant relevant to the question—for example, a letter, government record, photograph, or newspaper account. It can ground an argument, but it reflects a particular creator, purpose, and point of view. A secondary source is later analysis, such as a scholarly book or article. It can provide context, explain historical debates, and lead you to records and specialist literature.
Use both where possible: consult primary evidence for what it can establish, and reputable secondary scholarship to understand its context and how specialists interpret it. A textbook, encyclopedia, blog, or archive description may be a useful orientation, but for an important claim, check the underlying record when it is accessible. The ALA Reference and User Services Association’s guide to using primary sources online describes how primary and secondary sources complement each other.
4. Verify provenance and authenticity—especially online
For each source, ask who created it, when and where, for whom, and for what purpose. Find out how it was preserved, whether its attribution is credible, and what the creator could have known. An online scan or transcription also has a history: identify the institution hosting the digital version and, if different, the institution holding the original.
For a transcription, check whether it has a full citation and compare it with a scan or original when possible. Verify the item’s catalogue record and image independently; a plausible-looking citation or image is not proof that a record exists. The ALA guide to evaluating primary sources online covers authenticity and digital provenance, including the risk that generative AI can produce fabricated citations and counterfeit source material.
- Record the repository, collection, item identifier, and stable page or permalink.
- Distinguish the creator of the historical item from the person or institution that digitized, transcribed, or hosts it.
- Compare a transcription with the original image when available, and note any omissions or editorial additions.
5. Evaluate what each source can and cannot show
Sources are shaped by their time and society; none offers a view from nowhere. A letter may reveal what its author chose to tell a particular recipient, not everything the author knew. An official report may record an institution’s categories and priorities. A newspaper account may reflect its reporting practices and intended audience. For each source, ask what its creator could know, what was left out, who would read it, and what incentives shaped it.
Also consider how contemporary terms and categories differ from present-day meanings. Avoid explaining past actors through hindsight or assuming a modern label meant the same thing in their time. Apply the same scrutiny to your own assumptions.
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When assessing later scholarship or online material, examine the author’s qualifications, evidence, method, aims, and funding, as well as the organization’s reputation. Peer review is a useful sign of scrutiny, not a guarantee that every claim is correct. The House of Commons Library’s guide to evaluating sources sets out questions about authorship, purpose, methods, uncertainty, and perspective. Its guidance is framed for readers evaluating sources generally; apply it to the historical claim at hand rather than treating any checklist as a mechanical score.
6. Trace claims and compare evidence
Follow an important claim back to the earliest or original source you can locate. Read enough surrounding material to understand what the source is saying, then compare it with independent records or accounts where appropriate. Several sources do not amount to independent corroboration if they all repeat the same original assertion.
Compare sources by how close they are to the event and what their creators could know; their purpose and audience; their completeness and preservation; their independence; and whether they support the article’s exact wording. Compare interpretations by looking at the evidence each uses, its assumptions, how it handles counterevidence, and what uncertainty it acknowledges.
Records can conflict or leave gaps. Do not count sources and declare a winner, or imply that a consensus exists when the evidence does not establish one. Explain what each account supports and what remains unresolved. If a difficult claim rests on one surviving source, say so; if it cannot be responsibly checked, narrow it, attribute it carefully, or leave it out. The House of Commons Library’s guide to checking facts notes that some statements have no definitive source that can confirm or refute them.
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Maintain a working record for every material assertion. Include the article’s wording, the source passage, its creator and title, date, collection and repository, page, folio, or item identifier, stable URL or permalink, access date, and any caveat about interpretation. Keep both primary and secondary references so you can distinguish evidence from analysis.
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These notes make revisions and verification easier, and give readers a route back to the material. The American Historical Association’s Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct says, “The sloppier their apparatus, the harder it is for other historians to trust their work.” Here, “apparatus” means the notes, bibliographies, catalogs, databases, and other scholarly documentation that show the basis for an account and acknowledge prior scholarship.
Citation generators can help format a starting point, but verify every field—including where the original item is held. Follow the publication’s required citation style; Chicago Notes and Bibliography is commonly used by historians. The ALA guide to using primary sources online discusses tracking collection and stewardship information, while its Chicago Manual of Style resource points readers toward that citation system.
8. Write with certainty the evidence supports
Make clear whether a sentence reports what a source says or what you conclude from it. Attribute disputed interpretations, describe unresolved disagreement, and qualify dates or counts when the records do not settle them. If the evidence supports only a narrower statement, use that wording. The goal is an account readers can audit, not an appearance of certainty where the sources do not provide it.
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Quick Recap
- Before drafting: Is every material claim on your ledger?
- Before publication: Can a reader identify the source and follow the citation to the item or scholarship?
- For each disputed or interpretive claim: Does the wording distinguish evidence, attribution, and your conclusion?
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