OPVL

[schouston1991]

Hey, im not sure about this one, but has everyone doing history been taught to analyse sources with OPVL?

O- origin

P- purpose

V- value

L- limitation

i'm a little bit foggy on what each of these are actually about and how you are meant to use the information in answerig questions

any help would be great!

-soph x

[__inthemaking]

Yeah, I was taught OPVL but I didn't do IB history (only pre-IB history), so my memory's a bit foggy.

Origin is where the source comes from: author/artist, date it was written/finished, which country the author/artist was born in, where the source was actually produced, in which media (newspaper, book, letter, etc) it is presented.

Purpose is where you have to put yourself in the author/artist's shoes. What do you think they were trying to communicate to readers? What ideas/feelings were they trying to express/evoke? (The purpose is especially important when it comes to pieces of propaganda as sources).

Value is how valuable this source is. Basically it's linked to the amount of bias in the source..the more bias = the less valuable (usually). Primary sources are obviously more valuable than secondary/tertiary ones. Oh and obviously if you're doing something on Hitler's feelings towards Jews, a diary entry from him would be more valuable than a historian's account of how he felt.

Limitations is also linked to bias, each source will be at least a little biased and thus they are limited by that. If the source has been translated from the original (eg. Hitler's diary entry was translated into English by a historian and you're using the historian's book as a source) then the language difference will be another source of inaccuracy and a limitation.

Hope I helped!

Edited July 5, 2008 by __inthemaking

[robertomx]

Well actually OPVL is the method you're asked by the ib to use in your paper 1 (question 2/6/10 if i remember correctly) to evaluate some of the sources you're given. Basically, you use Origin and Purpose as a base for determining the Value and Limitations of a source (oh you should also use this OPVL thing for your IA, part C -evaluation of sources or something-). Origin refers to the author, where he's from, etc. , and it's very important to take into consideration the date of the source's publication if we're talking about a historian and stuff like that (for example, if your source is, say, discussing whether socialism was successful or not in Russia, it's important to consider if the author is Russian or not, and if the book was written before or after 1991). Purpose is about what the source is saying, basically you're to say why the author wrote the book or why certain historical character said some speech and stuff like that. Then, you use that info and come up with Value and Limitations. In value you say, for example ''this source is key to the study of WHATEVER because..." "This source is important given that it transmits..." and things like that; i.e., you say what the STRENGTHS of the source are. In limitation, you say things like ''this source is limited in its scope because...'' ''this source interferes with objectivity due to...'' etc etc; i.e., the WEAKNESSES of the source.

Hope that helped.

[tournedos]

My teacher basically told us, for

O - origin, just copy down the line above the Source e.g. An extract from Stalin's Speech to the workers at the train station, 1932

thats the origin

P- purpose, try to find the theme of the message, was it to motivate the train workers? Was it to declare how great the Five Year Plans were doing?

V- value. Never ever use words like biased, useful etc. Just say stuff like, this source is valuable to a historian studying Communism under stalin etc

L- Limitation, its usually linked to the Origin and purpose. Is the source limited because it was just a propaganda effort by Stalin? Is the (book) source limited in its information because it was written before the Soviet archives opened in 1995?

Hope that helps..

[xsandralee]

this is what i liked most about history - this was the easiest part of the whole exam.

basically

O - just copy off what the paper has for you (if its a picture - the subtitle/caption thing usually is it)

P - purpose - who its to, what it is (a speech? a propaganda pictures to urge..etc )

V - always refer to the O and P, so if the origin was an extract from stalin's speech, then one value would be - its the exact words of Stalin, and gives us an idea of what he wanted, etc

L - should be the same as values - referring to O and P, so limitation could be: it is a biased speech because stalin is trying to persuade workers to etc..

tips for Values/limitations:

-never say: its translated, so wording could differ

-you should also know a little about the dates - when Russia opened its archives in 19.. i dont remember the date anymore~ but, that could help. (like if an american historian wrote something about stalin's regime, after the archives were opened, then his book could be highly reliable - full with applicable facts, whereas, if he wrote it before the archives, russia was very secluded and its very hard to tell which are facts, etc)

err thats all i can think of right now

[mj9191]

Everyone has put some really good hints forward. OVPL is a tough concept to nail because the mark schemes can be lenient one year, harsh the next. I believe that the key is to make four firm, solid points for value and limitations (two each). Variety is important. Sure, bias is probable and something which, if evident, should be addressed, but how many candidates will use that one?! Try to look at the source itself, what language is used? Is the historian notable (i.e.: Bullock), or controversial (A.J.P. Taylor): work some historiography in if possible. This way, you show your teacher/examiner that your above and beyond Joe Blogs in the History stakes.

Good luck! I hope this helps...

[Mathikuki]

I just have a question on what two of you said that contradicted one another, if either of you or someone could clarify for future reference

___inthemaking:

"If the source has been translated from the original (eg. Hitler's diary entry was translated into English by a historian and you're using the historian's book as a source) then the language difference will be another source of inaccuracy and a limitation."

and xsandralee:

"never say: its translated, so wording could differ"

So which should I use in the future in order to get more points/marks? thanks

[Ruan Chun Xian]

Ok, speaking in terms of the source only, things can get lost in translation, therefore that, in itself, could be a limitation of the source. However, you can't assume just because it's translated there are things lost in translation and since you don't see the original source to compare, it is a bit iffy if you claim translation inaccuracy as a limitation for every single source you happen to come across that is translated. You should therefore try to find another limitation before resorting to that one.

Also, another limitation I personally admit to exhaustively overusing when I did IB was that: 'the source is an extract so there fore it could be taken out of context' and so forth. That, again, like the translation limitation - is another very broad limitation that could be applied to any extract but you can't know whether it really does apply to your current extract as you don't have the rest of the source.

If you do use either of the above, you can't just state it, I think you have to quote a sentence or something that you think that could be taken out of context or lost in translation and explain why it is so.

Also I think the above 2 limitations does get to be overused so it's not given as much weight as other limitations such as say, bias or something.

[heronumbazero]

The OPVL method is actually part of the history syllabus. Isn't that funky?

BTW - I have not been taught it - YET.

[Aliaandraa]

My history teacher keeps mentioning OPVL, constantly telling my class to highlight, bold, and make it absolutely CLEAR to the examiners that we are attempting to show them our OPVL.

It's pretty easy, if you ask me. Well relatively. It's not too hard..

Well so far I've only done about one and I was able to go research about the authors and such.

All I'm thinking is, if IB wants us to do this, and maybe even dedicates an entire exam/paper to it... I'm guessing that maybe this a great and important skill to have

Wouldn't you agree ?

[church]

My teacher never mentioned anything about opvl. How exactly are we supposed to use it? Is it for the paper test or the IA?

[Julie]

The OPVL is used for Paper 1. Paper one is a source-based exam, where you get about 4-5 sources and, basically, have to analyze them. I outlined the exam and what is expected as best as possible on this forum, so you can check it out: (Simply scroll down to the section titles: Approaching Paper 1...)

[URA BOAT]

wow...i thought that we were learning because our teacher is lame..haha jk...it is a good method to use in any paper..ee for example you can mention the limits of sources and connect it to origin and stuff

[Positively lost]

My teacher never mentioned anything about opvl. How exactly are we supposed to use it? Is it for the paper test or the IA?

it's for the IA only

[Emmi]

My teacher never mentioned anything about opvl. How exactly are we supposed to use it? Is it for the paper test or the IA?

it's for the IA only

False false FALSE

You will also need to use OPVL for Question 3 on the Paper 1 exam, and if you decide to write your EE in history, you'll need to consider the values and limitations of your sources if you want to do well.

[alyssabela]

http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/kingryan/Mrs._Ryans_Website/IB_History_files/OPVL%20Handout.pdf

This pdf saved my IA Source Evaluation, it tells you exactly what to do in detail.

[sberkmetin]

should we use OPVL in the historical investigations? If yes, in which part? 

Plan of Investigation, summary of evidence, evaluation of resources, analysis, conclusion? 

[Thrashmaster]

should we use OPVL in the historical investigations? If yes, in which part? 

Plan of Investigation, summary of evidence, evaluation of resources, analysis, conclusion? 

Yes, you should. The evaluation of resources, section c, would be the appropriate place to do two OPVLs in order to... can you guess? Evaluate your resources!