Research guide · Source analysis worksheet
What does this source actually establish?
Start with the record, not the conclusion you hope to find. Identify who made it, separate what it directly shows from your interpretation, check the context, compare other evidence, and explain what remains uncertain.
This guide is for independent readers, students, educators, and anyone following an investigation. It is a source-reading aid—not a historical finding, an accreditation, or a promise that one worksheet can settle every question.
1. Give the source an address
Record the title or a brief description, creator when known, creation date, and the institution or person preserving it. Keep the collection reference, catalog number, page, section, timecode, or stable link that lets another reader find the same material.
Distinguish the original record from a later transcription, translation, photograph, excerpt, or repost. When the creator, date, or provenance is unknown, write “unknown” rather than supplying a plausible replacement.
2. Separate observation from interpretation
Write down what you can directly read, see, or hear. Then write a separate sentence explaining what you think it means. Keep a quotation distinct from a paraphrase and preserve enough surrounding context to make its meaning checkable.
A useful pair of prompts is: “The source states or shows…” and “I infer…” If the second sentence reaches further than the first, identify the additional evidence the inference would need.
3. Ask about context and perspective
Who was the intended audience? Why might the record have been made? What could its creator reasonably observe, and what might they have learned indirectly? Consider how purpose, position, translation, selective survival, and missing context could affect your reading.
Use these questions to investigate limitations, not to dismiss inconvenient evidence automatically. Apply the same scrutiny to material that supports your preferred explanation.
4. Compare independent evidence
Look for another source that can test the same specific proposition. Ask whether it adds an independent observation or simply repeats the first account. Record the strongest relevant counterevidence, not just the weakest objection.
When sources disagree, describe the disagreement precisely. They may concern different dates, places, people, definitions, or parts of a broader claim. Do not force a simple verdict before resolving those differences.
5. State the boundary of the finding
Finish with three short statements: what the available evidence supports, what it does not establish, and what additional evidence could change the answer. Keep unresolved questions attached to the conclusion so a shortened quotation does not imply more certainty than you intended.
For Redacted Forge investigations, compare your reading with the File’s source context and correction record. A source held by an institution and a conclusion endorsed by that institution are not interchangeable descriptions.
Printable source-reading worksheet
Use the prompts below on paper or type into the page before printing. This worksheet has no submit action and no autosave. Keep your own copy before closing or reloading the page. Do not enter sensitive personal information.
Keep the source with the conclusion
Retain your locator and the version or access details needed to retrace the material. Consult the holding institution’s catalog entry for its preferred citation. When citing a Redacted Forge investigation, use its displayed title, publisher, material-update date when available, and canonical page address.
Being able to cite or inspect material does not grant permission to republish it. Keep archive conditions, source-specific restrictions, and any relevant cultural protocols separate from your judgment about what the source proves.
Citation and reuse guidance · Primary-source policy · The Redacted research method