Check Whether Sources Are Independent - Practice 1

5 questions0m 0s

Learn the skill

Two accounts repeating one original report are not two independent observations. Trace where each claim came from. Agreement can help, but does not remove the need to check accuracy, context and missing voices. All networks below are fictional.

Worked example

If B copies A and C copies B, the three texts may preserve only one originating account of the event.

Three document boxes form a chain: original A is copied by B, which is copied by C. Three surviving texts can therefore preserve only one originating account, not three independent observations.

Question 1 Invented archive 1: one original account has 2 copies. Another 1 accounts were independently recorded. How many originating accounts are represented, counting the first original? Answer

Question 2 Invented archive 2: one original account has 3 copies. Another 2 accounts were independently recorded. How many originating accounts are represented, counting the first original? Answer

Question 3 Invented archive 3: one original account has 4 copies. Another 3 accounts were independently recorded. How many originating accounts are represented, counting the first original? Answer

Question 4 Invented archive 4: one original account has 5 copies. Another 4 accounts were independently recorded. How many originating accounts are represented, counting the first original? Answer

Question 5 Invented archive 5: one original account has 6 copies. Another 1 accounts were independently recorded. How many originating accounts are represented, counting the first original? Answer