Oklahoma History Research & Evidence-Based Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which primary source type is most reliable for researching the experience of Oklahoma homesteaders during the Land Run of 1889?
- Newspaper editorials written decades later
- Diaries and letters written by participants at the time (Correct answer)
- Textbook summaries published in the 1950s
- Statistical census data from 1910
Correct answer: Diaries and letters written by participants at the time
Diaries and letters written by participants at the time are primary sources that capture firsthand experiences directly.
Question 2: A historian studying the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 finds conflicting death toll estimates ranging from 36 to 300. What is the best research practice?
- Use only the lowest estimate to avoid exaggeration
- Accept whichever number appears most often
- Triangulate across multiple credible sources and acknowledge uncertainty (Correct answer)
- Rely solely on official government records
Correct answer: Triangulate across multiple credible sources and acknowledge uncertainty
Triangulating across multiple credible sources and acknowledging uncertainty reflects sound historical methodology when evidence is incomplete.
Question 3: What does the term 'historiography' mean in the context of Oklahoma history research?
- The physical preservation of historical documents
- The study of how historical interpretations have changed over time (Correct answer)
- A method for dating archaeological artifacts
- The official government record of past legislation
Correct answer: The study of how historical interpretations have changed over time
Historiography refers to the study of how historical interpretations and methodologies have evolved among scholars over time.
Question 4: When researching Native American land cessions in Oklahoma Territory, which institutional archive would be most authoritative?
- A local county courthouse
- The Oklahoma Historical Society or National Archives (Correct answer)
- A private genealogy website
- A high school textbook bibliography
Correct answer: The Oklahoma Historical Society or National Archives
The Oklahoma Historical Society and National Archives hold original treaties, government correspondence, and official records relevant to land cessions.
Question 5: A researcher notices that most early accounts of the Oklahoma Land Run were written by Anglo-American settlers. What bias concern does this raise?
- Confirmation bias in statistical analysis
- Survivorship and perspective bias that excludes Native American and Black viewpoints (Correct answer)
- Recency bias from using too-new sources
- Publication bias favoring negative outcomes
Correct answer: Survivorship and perspective bias that excludes Native American and Black viewpoints
When sources predominantly reflect one demographic, they create survivorship and perspective bias that silences marginalized voices.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes a secondary source for Oklahoma Dust Bowl research?
- A 1937 Farm Security Administration photograph of an Oklahoma farm
- A letter written by an Okie migrant to California in 1935
- A 2005 scholarly book analyzing causes and effects of the Dust Bowl (Correct answer)
- A congressional testimony given by an Oklahoma farmer in 1936
Correct answer: A 2005 scholarly book analyzing causes and effects of the Dust Bowl
A scholarly book written decades after the event analyzes and interprets primary sources, making it a secondary source.
Question 7: Why is cross-referencing oral history interviews with documentary evidence considered best practice when researching Oklahoma's Five Civilized Tribes?
- Oral histories are always inaccurate and should be discarded
- Oral histories carry legal authority over written documents
- Oral histories preserve cultural memory but may vary, so corroboration strengthens reliability (Correct answer)
- Documentary evidence is always biased and oral history corrects it
Correct answer: Oral histories preserve cultural memory but may vary, so corroboration strengthens reliability
Oral histories capture cultural knowledge and lived experience but can vary with each telling, so corroborating them with documents strengthens historical conclusions.
Oklahoma History Research & Evidence-Based Practice 2
Which primary source type is most reliable for researching the experience of Oklahoma homesteaders during the Land Run of 1889?