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Research: 1.Careful or diligent search 2. Studious
inquiry or examination 3. The collecting of information concerning a particular
subject.
RESEARCHING HISTORY Digging into history through historic research is a very important part of understanding who we are as people, citizens, family members and individuals. By researching history you will develop an understanding of past events through the examination and interpretation of evidence. Evidence or proof of an event exists in many forms such as texts, historic location surveys, recorded documents, photos, recordings, maps, and artifacts. The job of a historian is to discover the evidence of history, read and study it, analyze the information, find evidence of its truthfulness, and use the information to interpret past events and reflect on how it applies to present events. To study history a historian needs to understand and use libraries. The library is one of the most important tools for a Historian to use. A library is a treasure trove of historic source materials such as: primary source material (diaries, letters, business documents) that allows the Historian to get a first-hand "feel" for the true time and place they are studying. Secondary sources, such as books and documents that are interpretations of other scholars that look at and study historic information is also very important. Being a Historian and doing historical research in a library is a lot like being an archaeologist digging in a site for information or proof of history. It takes lots of patience, imagination and an understanding of history to do historic research. Students doing historical research should on a subject should: 1) Have an understanding of the subject they are researching. 2) Find a small, detailed piece of historic information, they are interested in looking for. Make sure your subject isn't too broad or general, such as the Civil War, but find one part of the Civil War you are interested in, like a certain General or a specific battle and narrow your search results to make your research easier and clearer. 3) Make a list of words dealing with your study subject and when you first visit the library, use the library Data Center and do a search for the specific words to get a list of books or archival information that is stored there at the library. 4) Print out and read the suggested material from the Data Center and start looking at and reading through the information. All this takes time but will give you wonderful information, sources, and I am sure, some surprises. You still need more information? Always look through the bibliographies of the secondary source books and make notes. You can now take these to the library computer and see if some of these sources are available for you to look at, read at the library, or check out for more research. Don't forget the footnotes in secondary sources, they are my favorite to discover deeper information about your topic. Also, not to be forgotten in your research, encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, and chronologies can provide information to help you understand and interpret the past. Don't forget to check with your librarian or media specialist who can offer you information about the libraries possible collections of microfilm, archives, manuscripts, or other primary sources that match your research needs. J.L.Panagopoulos, copyright Sept. 2009 |
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The Principles of Research
Learning and Doing
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