Starting a History Research Project
Want to start your own history project? Not sure what to research or where to begin? Circa’s historians break down the steps of getting started on your own history research.
History projects usually start from two places: a question that you want to know the answer to and a time and place that particularly interest you.
Why you need a research question
Let’s start with the first aspect of starting history research: a question that you want to know the answer to. Asking a question about the past is key to driving your research. First, it sets the scope of what you will be researching. Instead of picking an entire topic—which might be several books’ worth of material!—by choosing a question to answer, it is clear what material you need to find answers to and what information should be included in your research findings. Second, asking a research question gives you a purpose for what you are doing: instead of repeating information that has already been collected on a topic, you are actually going out and finding answers to mysteries about the past. Third, asking a question gives you a clear argument for your paper: your thesis statement will simply be the answer that you found to your initial question. And finally, asking a question makes it more interesting for your audience! Your readers might want to also know the answer to this question, so they will be more engaged in what you have to say.
Qualities of a good research question
But what kind of question to ask? The key is to choose a question that does not have a clear answer, either with a fact or with yes/no. For instance, when were the Battles of Lexington and Concord fought? This question has a clear answer: April 19, 1775. This question, therefore, is not a very satisfying research question because there is not much to research. A better research question could still focus narrowly on the Battles of Lexington and Concord but would instead ask a more open-ended and engaging question. We might ask: what motivated some colonists to fight in these battles? How did the residents of these towns respond to the outbreak of violence? Or how did residents of other colonies react to the news of the Battles of Lexington and Concord?
The most important thing to remember when choosing a research question, especially when working on your first history research projects, is to keep the question small. The narrower your question, the more thoroughly you will be able to answer it. A question like “what caused World War I?” is enormous: it would require much research and a full-length book to start answering it. A smaller question, however, is something that you can both research and write about. For instance, how did your local newspaper react to the outbreak of World War I? The research for this question would be manageable, and you would be able to answer this question thoroughly. It might seem like smaller questions are less important but when you can answer them with specifics and thorough research, they become more compelling to your reader that half-answers to much bigger questions.
Types of research questions
Sometimes there are questions that immediately stand out to you. You might have encountered something at school or in person that made you wonder about the past. If you are looking for inspiration, you could also think about the type of question that you want to ask.
Some history questions ask how the past has shaped our world today. These questions might ask about the political, economic, and social forces that have created particular institutions, social structures, or attitudes in the world around us.
Other history questions ask how things changed over time. If there is one thing that is true about history, it is that things often do not remain consistent for long! Is there a transformation in history that interests you? This period of change might be well worth researching more.
A third kind of history question can tease out the differences between rhetoric and facts. Many sources that we have cannot be taken at face value: when did their authors know they were exaggerating or dreaming? When did they want to be taken seriously? For instance, in the postcard above, featuring a vision from the year 1900 about what the year 2000 might be like, how serious was the artist? Did the author expect for something like this to be possible in 100 years? Or was it meant to be a joke?
Finally, other history questions ask whether presumptions about what happened in the past are in fact true. There are certain things that everyone is taught about history in school. Often, upon further investigation, it becomes clear that these ‘facts’ at least need to be updated—and perhaps were not even true! Do you want to take a closer look at one of these many assumptions we routinely make about the past?
Choosing a time and place
The final aspect to keep in mind is the time and place for your research. Some research questions need to take place within a specific context by necessity. For instance, why didn’t Paris dismantle the Eiffel Tower as planned? This question takes us to 20th-century Paris. We can’t really answer it by looking at New York City in the 1820s. But other questions could focus on many times and places: how did industrialization affect women workers? We could look at numerous places or times to answer this question. It is your job as the historian to pick the time and place that you think is most important for answering this question.
One thing to keep in mind is which times and places interest you. Research projects often take a long time, so it is important that you like what you are researching! At the same time, you might want to work on a time and place that you know relatively little about—you might end up finding a new favorite historical period.
A final aspect to remember is the question of access to materials. Some sources are just more available than others. Some archives have digitized their materials; other archives are willing to send you PDF copies of the materials that you need. Access, therefore, is important. Think about local archives that are available to you, either through your own town, through local institutions, or through local museums. Look for important materials that have been digitized that you can access from anywhere. And finally, think about languages. If you speak another language, this is the perfect time to use it! Or this is the perfect reason to start learning a new language! If your project takes place in a culture that spoke a language different from the ones you do now, make sure that you will have enough material available to you in languages that you can read. If not, this is a good early indication to change the location in which you are centering your research question.
Final thoughts
History research can be enormously rewarding. You can answer questions that you have about the past, and you don’t just have to take the word of someone else that this answer is true. It can also give you a real sense of accomplishment at having discovered something that other researchers have overlooked.
At Circa, we believe that history research is far more interesting and meaningful than memorizing names and dates. When you do your own research into the past, you develop your academic skills, learn more about history (and remember what you learned longer), and also have an end product that you have made yourself. So what are you waiting for? Start thinking today about what history projects you would like to research! And if you need some guidance or need help on the skills of history, Circa’s experts are here to work with you.
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