Wondering "HowTo" Start a Research Paper in History

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Wondering "How-To" Start a Research Paper in
History?

• Read on...

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• First place to start is to think What are you
  interested in? Whatever it is, it probably has a
  history, and might work as a research topic or
  area to inquire into. For example  Social
  situations (equality, gender differences in a
  society, status of the rich/poor, class, caste,
  prejudice, globalism, ethnicity) 
• Intellectual areas (philosophies like
  Confucianism or Aristotelianism, ideas like
  progress or cycles in life, various views of
  reality -- "if my subjective perception is
  reality, and the objective image that another
  projects is reality, then subjective perception
  is objective image, i.e., subjectiveobjectiveima
  ge??" -- logic, intuition, romanticism,
  enlightenment) 
• Religion (then, e.g. the Greeks' Zeus Hera,
  Judaism, Early Christianity, Islam, Buddhism,
  Hinduism) later (medieval Judaism/Christianity
  etc) now (changes in ...., or radical
  developements like Al-Qaeda) 
• Politics (origins/developments of democracy,
  medieval kings/queens, leadership, the current
  presidential election) 

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• Aesthetic or Artistic fields (like
  Classical/Medieval/Modern Architecture,
  Renaissance painting, sports, literature, music,
  scultpure) 
• Geographic shifts (Civilization moving from the
  Mediterranean to Northern Europe to New England
  to Utah to California) 
• Economic ideas/changes (Capitalism, Marxism,
  Medieval Manors, SLC Olympics) 
• Or, how any of these areas interact with each
  other to produce revolution/evolution. 
• Still lost? Re-read your class notes for
  something that caught your interest/attention.

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• Having settled on an area, remember that
• History is an Inquiry
• History is 'done' through your Interpretation of
  Primary Sources
• History is concerning some issue dealing with
  humanity
• History teaches us about us.

That definition requires Primary or eyewitness
sources from which you build your interpretation.
So if you want to research the leadership
qualities of Julius Caesar, you must begin by
finding sources, and for this topic there are
plenty (by Caesar himself, by Plutarch, Suetonius
and a number of Roman historians). Put those
sources under your pillow.
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• Worried about grades?
• Afraid your work won't be good enough? 
• Wondering if there is there will be time to
  complete the project on time? 
• Not sure what the next step is? 
• The answers are easy 
• Forget grades. Concentrate on expanding your Life
  of the Mind. And -- you're not alone not only
  are there many others delving into history, but
  all history, all topics await you (eagerly). 

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• Your work will be good enough if you follow the
  ideas outlined here, apply yourself, and think. 
• Make time for the project. Define other things in
  your life as less important, e.g., sleep. Once
  you get into your project, your enthusiasm, drive
  and desire will carry you through, unless you
  choose a boring topic -- then guess who made the
  wrong choice.
• Why bother? Why study History?
• Because its FUN!
• If you know your history, then you would know
  where you're coming from." From Buffalo Soldier
  by Bob Marley
• History's not 'bunk' -- Fords are!
• No Corporate Power-Ties Allowed!

For more, click the History Peoples Link on
Cottlers, Nichols or Markowskis Home Pages, or
talk to an instructor for ideas make them earn
the 'Big Bucks!'
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• So you are on to a topic -- say, the place of
  Medieval Architectural (like Gothic) in a society
  (like Monasticism), or in art (Romanesque vs
  Gothic), or functionality (like engineering), or
  religion (like Cathedrals), or politics (like
  Castles).
• What Next?
• Of course, I was joking about losing sleep over
  the project, but, television -- do you think it
  helps your thinking? 
• A couple hours alone, with only yourself, good
  books, your thoughts -- yes, that will certainly
  help your thinking. Which to choose....?

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• There is nothing threatening about working on a
  history paper
• the Threat comes from diversions like T.V.  Your
  own interests, progress and success are more
  important than couch-potato-ness!

Now to find good books on your project, and as
closely related to your thesis as possible in
order to save time because if you're at all like
me...
I can divert myself with any kind of reading.... 
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• Remember, there are two major types of useful
  reading
• Primary sources
• Which originate in the time in question and
• Which reflect the evidence of that day and its
  issues.
• Also useful are Secondary sources
• which are written today by scholars (and
  sometimes by experts)
• which tell about that day, those issues.
• Keep in mind about Secondary sources
• those who taught Columbus about the flatness of
  the earth were scholars and experts!
• Center on Primary Sources.  

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Secondary sources can bring out important
ideas, terminology, arguments, context. Primary
sources provide the foundation for history. 
Don't trust either, or any...trust your own
critical insights and evidence.
Critical Evaluation of all sources -- by
you -- is necessary to get closer to what
actually happened, to what people really thought
and did. For example, consider  if both
President George Bush and President Bill Clinton
wrote a history of the modern economy in the U.S,
imagine how different each would present our
situation! Which to believe? Well, the
historian would probably find accuracy (and the
opposite) in both by reading further, analyzing
evidence, evaluating details, finding
corroboration, examining the bias of each (and we
are all biased one way or another, for example,
I'm biased toward objectivity!), and so on.
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We have already come a long way We've chosen a
topic, focused on a thesis, located Primary and
Secondary sources, and, have begun to read them.

• If you cannot find primary sources to support
  your thesis-inquiry, then you cannot write that
  history paper. In that case, best advice is to
  leave that thesis and move on to another.

Take notes as you read. Jot down each idea as
your reading sparks it.
Note down how you plan to incorporate this idea
or that text into your project. 
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At this point, you should feel that you've gained
some control over your project, over your
intellectual destiny -- unlike this character!

• How to get control? Spend an hour a day in this,
  and only this, project. Then do other things
  knowing that you have forged ahead once again
  under your own power, rather than being dragged.