Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 2nd Edition

Evidence Explained is the definitive guide to the analysis and citation of historical sources. It begins with a simple question: Why do we invest so much of our energy into the citation of sources? and the intriguing answer: Because all sources are not created equal. Evidence Explained is built on this simple question and answer. According to the author, there are no historical resources we can trust at face value. Records simply offer evidence, and their assertions may or may not be true. To decide what likely happened, we must understand those records. To analyze that evidence and judge what to believe, we also need particular facts about those records.

Elizabeth Shown Mills is a historical writer and independent scholar with decades of research experience in public and private records of many Western nations. Published widely in academic and popular presses Mills edited a national-level scholarly journal for sixteen years, taught for thirteen years at a National Archives-based institute on archival records and, for twenty years, has headed a university-based program in advanced research methodology. Mills knows records, loves records, and regularly shares her expertise in them with live and media audiences across three continents.