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10 November 2013

Stuck On That Paper?

If a document is confusing you, consider the following:

  • why was the document written?
  • who gave the information?
  • could someone else have given the information?
  • how did the informant know the information?
  • did they have to verify information in the document?
  • was there any motive for lying or modifying the truth?
  • was there any real chance of being caught lying?
  • was there any punishment for giving incorrect information?
There are other items to consider as well, but these questions may get you started.

And--typing the document is always a good analysis technique as well.

1 comment:

  1. I've used the 'typing the doc' approach many times with great success. Even with family letters, somehow the act of transcribing the doc word for word makes certain things literally jump off the page. Anomalies and inconsistencies become more obvious. It's a great method for effective analyzing.

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