Keywords ; What is Historical Research? The Purposes of Historical Research, The Nature of
Historical Data, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Steps of Historical research, Evaluating Historical Data, Data Analysis in Historical Research
Historical Research
What is Historical Research?
The systematic collection and evaluation of data to describe, explain,
and understand actions or events that occurred sometime in the past.
There is no manipulation or control of variables as in experimental
research.
An attempt is made to reconstruct what happened during a certain period
of time as completely and accurately as possible.
Historical Research
The researcher tries to record
and understand events of the past
Provides a better understanding
of the present
Suggest possible future
directions
Historical research:
tries to discover facts
tries to get at truth
involves the collection of data
The Purposes of Historical Research
To make people aware of what has happened in the past in order to:
- Learn from past failures and successes
- Apply them to present-day problems
- Make predictions
- Test hypotheses concerning relationships or trends
- Understand present educational practices and policies
The Nature of
Historical Data
The data
already exist. New data cannot be
generated, only found.
The data
cannot be controlled in the same way as they are controlled in other types of
research
Whatever data
are found must be validated
Sources of
Historical Data
Primary
Sources:
Original
documents
Remains of documents
Physical artifacts
Eyewitness accounts
Firsthand information
Connected directly to an event
Primary Sources
v
Minutes of meetings
v
Medical records
v
Original speeches
v
Original manuscripts
v
Tax records
v
awards
v
Committee reports
v
Court proceedings
v
Diplomas
v
Memoirs
v
Autobiographies
v
Written eyewitness accounts
v
Photographs
v
Buildings
v
Costumes
v
Paintings
v
Video recordings
v
Lecture notes
v
Facilities
Secondary Sources:
q
Hearsay evidence
q
Not joined directly to the event
q
An interpreter is placed between the researcher
and the event
q
Examples include textbooks, newspapers,
encyclopedias, bibliographies
Oral History
Taped interviews with individuals who are in a position to recall their
involvement and perceptions of various events and movements
Biographical Research
Studies the life, career, and contributions of former leading scholars,
teachers, coaches, administrators, dancers, health educators and re-creators to
provide a better understanding of the philosophies and movements in our fields
Problems of the Biographer
Ø
Faulty memory of primary source people
Ø
Inability to interview a primary source person
Ø
Failing to discover a primary source person or
document.
Ø
Response of a living subject could be biased
Ø
Controversial aspects of a person’s life might
be offensive to living relatives.
Ø
Striking a balance between being too vague and
providing too much detail.
Ø
Organizing the data and writing an interesting
narrative.
Steps of Historical research
In general, Historical research involves the following five steps:
- Selection of the problem
- Formulation of the hypotheses
- Collection of Data
- Criticism of Data
- Interpretation of Data and Reporting of finding
Format for
the Report
Chapter
1: Introduction
Statement of
the Problem
Purpose of
the Study
Significance
of the Study
Delimitations
Limitations
Chapter
2: Review of Literature and Procedures
Nature of
information needed
Sources of
data
Procedures
for collecting data
Organization
and analysis of data
Criticism
of Data
Evaluating Historical Data
- Internal Criticism:
- Assesses the meaning of the content of the document
- Did the event really occur?
- Did it take place as it was described?
- How consistent is the writer’s account with other reports of the same event?
External Criticism:
- Determines the authenticity, genuineness, and validity of the source of the data
- Physical and chemical tests of artifacts
- Tests of signature, script, handwriting, spelling and type
- Consistency in language use in relation to the time period
Interpretation of Data
After the data have been
collected and criticized, the researchers start the task of interpretation of
the data in the light of their problem.
The writing of the historical research report needs the highest level of
scholarship on the part of the researcher. the presentation of the report
should be objective and systematic, and should not hide the truth. The
historical research report must be presented in the logical and chronological
order.
Steps Involved in
Historical Research
Defining the
Problem
Locating
relevant sources
Documents
Numerical
records
Oral
statements
Relics
Summarizing
information obtained from historical sources
Evaluation of
historical sources
Internal
criticism
External
criticism
Data Analysis in Historical Research
Historical
researchers use the following methods to make sense out of large amounts of
data:
Theoretical
model leading to a content analysis
Use of
patterns or themes
Coding system
Quantitative
data to validate interpretations
Advantages
and Disadvantages
of Historical Research
of Historical Research
Advantages
Permits
investigation of topics and questions that can be studied in no other fashion
Disadvantages
Cannot control threats to internal validity
Limitations are imposed due to the content
analysis
Researchers cannot ensure representation of
the sample
