The History Research Process

In researching and writing history, certain basic skills must be mastered, including:

• gathering factual information from reference sources to flesh out your narrative;
• surveying the scholarly literature to find existing ideas, opinions, etc.;
• introducting and commenting on scholarly sources within your own unique narrative;
• referencing additional scholarly sources (not discussed in the narrative) in footnotes.

This guide will introduce these ideas, providing examples and linking you to helpful resources. Click on the sub-pages in the menu in the left to explore these four skills in more detail.