E01¶


Research	R0050 — Journalism Disciplines
Run	2026-03-31-02
Query	Q002
Source	SRC06
Evidence	SRC06-E01
Type	Factual

Historical source criticism contributes the external/internal criticism distinction and seven formal evaluation criteria

URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_criticism

Extract¶

Seven core criteria (from Scandinavian textbooks, Olden-Jorgensen 1998, Thuren 1997): 1. Relics (physical evidence) are more credible than narratives 2. Source originality strengthens reliability 3. Proximity to events increases trustworthiness 4. Primary sources outrank secondary, which outrank tertiary 5. Multiple independent sources corroborate credibility 6. Source "tendency" (bias motivation) must be assessed 7. Witnesses with no vested interest provide enhanced credibility

External vs. Internal Criticism (R.J. Shafer): - External criticism: Negative function — preventing use of false evidence (is the source authentic?) - Internal criticism: Positive function — showing how to properly use authenticated evidence (what does the source actually say?)

Garraghan and Delanglez's six inquiries: When was it produced? Where? Who authored it? What pre-existing materials influenced it? What is its original form? What is the evidential value?

Novel concepts: 1. External/internal criticism separation: The distinction between authenticating a source (external) and interpreting its content (internal) is not formalized in any of the nine reference frameworks. ROBIS audits process quality, not source authenticity. 2. Proximity hierarchy: The principle that sources closer to events are more reliable is formalized in historical criticism but only implicit in GRADE or ICD 203. 3. Tendency assessment: The formal requirement to assess a source's motivation/bias direction (not just presence of bias) adds nuance beyond Cochrane's COI domain.

Relevance to Hypotheses¶

Hypothesis	Relationship	Strength
H1	Supports	Multiple novel concepts identified
H2	Partially contradicts	More novel than expected
H3	Contradicts	Clearly formal methodology

Context¶

Historical source criticism predates all nine reference frameworks — it has roots in 19th-century German historicism (Leopold von Ranke). Many concepts in the reference frameworks may have been influenced by historical methodology without explicit attribution.