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HIST 344: Historiography and Research Methodology: Research Question Development

Explorng a Research Topic

Getting Started:

In the development phase, do a preliminary search to familiarize yourself with your general topic. Use the five W's to focus your research:

What: part, aspect, focus
Who: demographic focus (gender, age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status)
Where: geographic location
When: either present day or a particular time period in the past
Why/How/So What!: importance, impact (societal, individual)

Keep in Mind:

You don't have to answer all of the questions. Some might not apply
or be helpful.
Your research question might evolve and change as you review
the literature.

Brainstorming Worksheet

Brainstorming Worksheet
Use this worksheet to apply the 5 W's to your topic and brainstorm keywords for searching.

Historiography Research Project Organization

Historiography Research Sources Matrix
Includes a template to record your article source citations and reflect on whether your source is primary/secondary, how the source relates to your thesis, the relevance, etc.

Preliminary Searching

Britannica Academic
Encyclopaedia Britannica, along with a world atlas, world factbook, journals, magazines, images and videos.
Credo Reference

A collection of over 500 specialized reference works covering every major subject.

Google
A good place to get ideas, but be sure to confirm the credibility of any sources you want to use.

Narrowing a Research Topic