| Reading Critically |
It is important to read critically when doing your secondary research. Question the authority of the writers and check their sources. What is the writer's background: are they an historian, anthropologist, sociologist or archaeologist? Is the writer's background appropriate to their area of study? Did writer use primary sources for their study or only secondary sources? If primary sources were used, where did the writer go to find them? Does the writer have a particular agenda or political axe to grind? What are the major themes and claims of the various sources? Are there controversies or areas of disagreement? Do not assume that just because a source is written by a well-known scholar and published by a reputable publisher that it is accurate. Take notes on these issues.
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