Top Tips For Historical Research

For those of us who have conducted any kind of historical research

, it is common knowledge that the process can be a tiring one, and indeed one that can be thought of as most challenging. While this is true, it can also be very rewarding too. In this article we're going to examine some of the main ways someone might conduct their historical research.

There are many reasons why people conduct historical research. It might be that a person wishes to find out more about their family, or it might be, as is more common, that they need to conduct it as part of their studies at school, college or university.

One of the main ways people do their research is in the library. The library not only provides access to a huge range of books, but it also gives people the chance to look at a broad range of periodicals and newspapers too. This can therefore give access to a very wide range of primary and secondary sources. Just a re-cap here: primary sources are those that are quotes from people who have been there or documents that are considered to be original, such as the declaration of independence, for example. A secondary source is one that is an interpretation of primary sources. These, therefore, can be influenced by all sorts of things, personal opinion, state propaganda, and misunderstanding.

Books written on an event may well cover both primary and secondary sources (whilst themselves being a new secondary source). Books such as this may be found in the library, or in book shops. There are a range of online and high street shops that are particularly focussed on helping with historical research. These shops can often provide access to some less common, or obscure titles. As such, they can be more expensive that fiction books, for example.

If possible, you should try and seek out primary sources for yourself. If someone has witnessed an event, your educational writing would be very much enriched by gaining access to a real live living source. Of course, in reality, this is not always possible due to the passage of time.

The internet can also provide a great deal of quality information, although one should be aware that far more unreliable material exists on the internet that in printed form. It is worth spending some time finding out if the information you have found can be backed up with reliable sources or scholars.

by: Anna Stenning

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