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Research Section - A Guide to Writing a History Article |
Research
- Choose a subject
- Choose a subject to investigate - topic, place,
period etc.
- Read around the subject.
- Be prepared to revise as work proceeds.
- Find sources and evidence (much
of this can be found at the Museum or in the Library)
- Amass and control information
- Consider storage, filing systems, databases,
card indexes, and retrieval.
- Analyse evidence
- Ask yourself questions of the evidence - why,
how, when, who, what, where?
- Analyse evidence both words and numbers by using
carefully designed forms, spreadsheets, databases
etc. thereby creating new evidence and generalisations.
- Re-read and sort all evidence before writing
- Reject evidence that you consider not to be
essential.
- Question sources
- What was their agenda when they were writing?
- Weigh their relative strengths and weaknesses.
- Synthesise and interpret
- Survey evidence in the light of other historians'
work (secondary sources), and think out the historical
argument to be presented.
- This process should have begun
at the start, but climaxes here as one prepares
to write.
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Writing
- Write outline of text
- Outline in skeletal form, establishing order
of presentation and the main twists and turns
of the argument.
- Suggested content:
- A clear statement of the basic subject,
or problem, to be investigated.
- Some discussion of the context of that subject.
- An explanation of the evidence and methodology
used.
- A summary which highlights the broad conclusions.
- Write First Draft
- Keep the prose flowing by writing quickly -
amendments, improvements and references can be
added later.
- Points to consider whilst writing:
- Description - use it to convey an event
or scene at a particular time.
- Narrative - use it to give the sequence
of events and emphasis time and change.
- Analysis - use it to attempt to explain
why things happened and to show how events
were connected.
- Honesty - do not invent what is not there
or has no evidence to prove it.
- Other considerations:
- Ask questions - probe the evidence e.g.
how many soldiers were involved? what were
the casualty rates? how do those compare with
other occasions? when was the equipment most
effective? why was the equipment most effective?
where was the equipment most effective? etc.
- Confess doubt - if you doubt some evidence
say so and give reasons.
- Control detail - select the details that
best illustrate your point, don't be tempted
to bombard the reader with details.
- Master chronology - actual time does not
have to be a straightjacket provided that
it is clear to the reader, it is sometimes
more effective to move around historically.
- Polish quotations - quotations can be used
to illustrate points and provide another voice
but should not be over long as to bore the
reader or unbalance the text.
- Avoid moral superiority - it is easy in
hindsight to pass judgment.
- Avoid jargon, abbreviations and acronyms - unless you explain what
they mean.
- Re-draft and Final revision
- Re-draft as many times as necessary, this often
involves substantial alteration.
- Final revision - check for:
- mistakes in spelling.
- inconsistencies in the use of names and
numbers.
- mistakes in punctuation and grammar.
- words which beg to be deleted.
- correct references.
- References - below are examples of how to reference
your work:
- From a single book
- Napier G,
The Sapper VCs, (The Stationery
Office, London, 1998) pp. 56-9.
- From an article or chapter in an edited
book
- Lieutenant
Colonel H A Hughes, 'Part Two - Postal
and Courier' in M White (ed), Gulf
Logistics: Blackadder's War, (Brassey's,
1995), 159-185.
- From an article in a journal
- Dick Richards,
'Alamein - A Sapper's Story', The
Royal Engineers Journal, 119, I (2005),
11-15.
- From a manuscript (primary) source
- Letters of
Sapper RE Barker, 1945-8: REM1287A-0987
- From a web site
- Wilson CR
(2005) Field Marshal Sir John Fox
Burgoyne [online] Available from
http://www.remuseum.org.uk/biography/rem_bio_burgoyne.htm
[Accessed 13 September 2005]
- Seek criticism from at least two persons
- A specialist who has knowledge of the subject
to advise on accuracy and interpretation.
- A non-specialist to advise on the clarity
of narrative.
- Publish
- Articles relevant to the Corps may be considered
for publication in the The Royal Engineers
Journal, The Sapper magazine and
on this web site.
- For more details on publication in The Royal
Engineers Journal or The Sapper
magazine contact:
The Assistant Secretary (Publications)
The Institute of Royal Engineers
Brompton Barracks
Chatham
Kent
ME4 4UG
Tel: 01634 822299
Email: assist.sec@inst-royal-engrs.co.uk
- For publication details on the Royal Engineers
Museum web site contact:
The Curator
Royal Engineers Museum
Prince Arthur Road
Gillingham
Kent
ME4 4UG
Tel: 01634 822261
Email: mail@re-museum.co.uk
Source: Dymond D: Researching and writing history (British Association for Local History, Salisbury, 1999)
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by private funds. Reg No: 295173 |
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