What can a source show?
How useful is a passenger list for our enquiry?
Evaluate a digital archive source by distinguishing creator, custodian, document date, usefulness and limits.
Use a detail. Explain what it supports.
Start with what you know
What is the difference between a fact and an inference?
Can a list of occupations explain every motive?
Say what you would need to check.
Words that help
| CREATOR | PROVENANCE |
|---|---|
| made the document. Custodian: keeps the record. | origin and purpose. Utility: useful for a question. |
Inspect a real archive image
The original list dates from June 1948.
The National Archives preserves it; it did not run the voyage.
Open image full sizeWatch a worked example
| WHAT IT RECORDS | WHAT IT DOES NOT |
|---|---|
| Names, ages and stated occupations. | Each motive, a job secured, or later life. |
Try one together
Error 1: the archive ran the ship.
Error 2: a scan upload date is the voyage date.
Error 3: an occupation proves a motive.
Choose, then explain
Which evaluation fits the enquiry?
A. Official means accurate for every question.
B. Useful for recorded occupations, limited for motives.
Choose, then explain the limit.
Now it is your turn
| YOUR TASK | EXPLAIN |
|---|---|
| Correct the three archive errors. Use a catalogue field in each correction. | Write a usefulness judgement and a limit. |
Make the reasoning visible
Point to one detail you used.
Say how it helped your answer.
Name one thing it cannot show.
Keep your first answer for the check.
Check the reasoning
Reveal the checks after pupils have kept their first response.
Reveal the model
| USEFUL FOR | LIMITED FOR |
|---|---|
| Who is recorded and what occupation is listed. | Motives, later jobs and every passenger's feelings. |
Your voice shapes the next step
Choose one idea to share, or pass.
Your listener tells you what they heard.
Keep or change your idea; give a reason.
Tell us what would help you next time.
Before you go
Who made the record, and who keeps it?
What additional source would help with motives?
Show one detail that helped.
Choose a next step.
Use the controls or left and right arrow keys. Printing includes pupil content; model answers remain separate.