Source Interpretation and Data Analysis
Source Interpretation and Data Analysis tests evidence handling: judging sources, reading tables and graphs, and drawing warranted conclusions.
What the exam tests
This domain tests evidence handling: identifying sources, judging reliability, comparing data and drawing limited conclusions. It rewards precision about what a source can and cannot prove.
Core rules and concepts
- Primary sources are produced at the time or by participants; secondary sources interpret them later.
- For any source, ask: who made it, when, for whom, why, and what is omitted?
- Corroborate one source with another; a single source rarely proves a general claim.
- Data: distinguish percentage from percentage point; check base year, units and totals.
- Graphs: read axes, labels and scale before describing a trend.
- Tables: compare like with like; averages can hide distribution.
Worked example
A table shows literacy rose from 50% to 60% over ten years. A student writes 'literacy rose by 10%'. The precise statement is a rise of 10 percentage points, or a 20% relative increase (10 ÷ 50 × 100). Reasoning: percentage points describe the difference between two percentages; percent change uses the earlier value as the base.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating a colonial official's report as unbiased.
- Using a later source to 'prove' an earlier event without corroboration.
- Confusing percentage and percentage point.
- Inferring causation from a graph that shows only correlation.