Evaluating Images & Digital Resources

HST 379 | Native Americans in North America from 1830

A performer during Indian Week, 1970-197Brigham Young University : 1000 views of 100 years273 topPublic Domain, Courtesy University Archives, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University; Public

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What is an Authentic Artifact?

n. ~ 1. The quality of being genuine, not a counterfeit, and free from tampering, and is typically inferred from internal and external evidence, including its physical characteristics, structure, content, and context.

- authentic, adj. ~ 2. Perceived of as genuine, rather than as counterfeit or specious; bona fide.

Society of American Archivists:

Authenticity

Documentation is Everything

Article: Baltimore Sun http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-04-28/news/1993118056_1_constellation-ship-history-afloat

Photo (2010): Wikimedia, 350z33 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Constellation_Inner_Harbor.JPG

Context is Key

Houghton Library Blog (Harvard) http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/houghton/2013/09/20/myths-debunked-sadly-theodore-roosevelt-never-rode-a-moose/

Determining Trustworthiness

More: 'Bert in the Frame with Bin Laden' BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1594600.stm

Image cropped from snopes.com

  • Is the site or collection reputable?
  • Does associated image metadata tell you everything you need to know?
  • Is there contextual information about the image's creation?
  • If one or more of these is not true, consider finding a new source.

Primary Sources on the Web

Photo from New York Public Library Digital Collection

Locating Primary Sources

  • Native American Studies Research Guide http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/c.php?g=95603&p=624342

Places to start - LibGuides!

Cultural Heritage Databases

  • University Libraries
  • Museums
  • Special & Public Libraries
  • Government agencies

Elsewhere on the Web

  • Google Results *

Google Results*

Determining trustworthy sites on the web

  • Who is responsible for the website?
    • Contact info, an 'About' page, credentials
  • Is there a clear purpose or reason for the site?
    • Who sponsors the page? What is the agenda?
  • Determine the origin of the primary source
    • Does the site give metadata vouching for the item's authenticity?
  • What do others say about the web site?
    • Has it been reviewed elsewhere on the web?

 

Guidelines from Reference and Users Services Association, "Using Primary Sources on the Web" http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources

Once you have a trustworthy image...

  • What context was the photo taken in?
  • What message is the image trying to convey? 
  • Do other sources back up the image?

[unretouched]

Published in The North American Indian

Edward S. Curtis, “In a Piegan Lodge,” still image, (1910), http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.award/iencurt.cp06005

Edward S. Curtis, “In a Piegan Lodge,” still image, (1910), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002722455/

Evaluating Digital Resources and Images

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Evaluating Digital Resources and Images

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