HISTORY 371 JAMIE JOHNSON JAMIE JOHNSONCSUN EDU LIBRARY

HISTORY 371 JAMIE JOHNSON JAMIE. JOHNSON@CSUN. EDU LIBRARY. CSUN. EDU/GUIDES/HIST 37 1 Professor Joyce Broussard

What is Historiography ? Best describe d as “the history of history” Examines the changes in the methods interpretations and conclusions of earlier generations of historians building on or arguing with previous schools of thought. Deeper understanding of how history is written and the fact that ideas are open to interpretation

What is Historiography? Historians explanations have changed over time New information comes to light New sources previously unexplored Re-interpretation of previous sources New questions emerge, priorities change Methodologies change New schools of thought Those who cannot remember the past are condemne d to repeat it. --George Santayana

Historiography… continued…. Questions to consider… Individual works What is the “main point”? Reinforce earlier thought or re-interpretation? What kinds of sources are used? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the argument, analysis and conclusions? How do these authors work as a group to understand the series of events?

Historiography… continued… again! Questions to consider… The Big Picture How has the historiography changed over time? How have ideological shifts had an impact on your topic? Have the “discovery” or reinterpretations of sources caused historians to ask new questions?

Research Process

Formulating a Research Topic Frame your research topic as a question Fit it to the scope of your assignment Answer it based on evidence in available sources Focus it: avoid superficial or too narrow/broad coverage

Exploring Information Investigate available sources to extend your understanding of the topic Get orientated the type of finding tools available at the library to find secondary sources For context/background info use encyclopedias, dictionaries, & bibliographies. Library Catalog: keyword and subject searching Databases: Journal articles and book reviews Google Scholar

Developing a Search Strategy Choose a Topic Background information Developing Keywords Search Tips Boolean Searches (AND, OR, NOT) Phrase Searches (“”) Wildcard Searches (*) Found a good article? Try looking at the bibliography or works cited list of citations for additional resources. To find an article by citation type the title ONLY in One. Search

Evaluating Sources Author: are they a historian? What is the experience or qualifications of the author Google author, find their credentials Is the resource based on fact, opinion, ideology? Does the resource express a particular bias or agenda? Has the resource been examined in prior publications? (book reviews)