Australians at war – Focus groups

Top Websites for Primary sources on focus groups during World War I and World War II

Search for aborigines, prisoners of war, women

Try the Podcasts to listen to the stories from POWs

Anzac connections for personal stories of women and POWs

Great for newspapers, magazines

Get specific – Women + Land army

Prisoners of war – Burma

Aborigines World War II

Consider

Is the source credible (i.e. produced by a reputable organisation such as a government department)?
Does the source show any bias? In other words, is the creator of the source trying to present only one of many perspectives on the historical topic?
Are there any parts of the source that seem to be inaccurate? For example, are there things you would expect to see in the source which is not depicted? Do certain numbers in a chart, table or graph seem especially small or large?
Does the current source support, or contradict, another source that you have looked at? What is this other source? In what ways do the sources contradict each other?

Who is the author of this text?
What do you know about them? (Consider age, gender, social position, religion, etc.)
What are their thoughts, opinions or viewpoint on the historical event?
What biases do they have?

What is the historical event/situation/issue being discussed/analysed/evaluated?
When and where did the historical event take place?
Who are the key players/stakeholders involved?
What did these key players/stakeholders do in this situation/problem/issue?
Is the problem ongoing? What are the ongoing issues? How does the historical event impact today’s society?
Are there any other possible opinions or viewpoints on this historical situation/problem/issue? Are these expressed in the text and, if so, what are they?’

‘What did you read in the text that might have influenced your opinion or viewpoint on the historical event? (For example, evidence-based on data or expert opinion.)
‘What have I learned about the historical event by reading this text?’
‘What do I still need to learn about that historical event to understand this text better?’