Historical Research Processes
Historical Research often involves these steps.
It should be noted that the research process is rarely linear. Many of these steps may occur multiple times throughout the research process. This is normal.
(Berg & Lure, 2012, 311) and (https://guides.lib.lsu.edu/hist)
Primary Sources
Historical Research depends heavily on both Primary and Secondary sources.
Primary sources are contemporary in some manner to the time in which they were created. These sources can give researchers insight into various aspects of the time period in question and can be analyzed in a variety of ways depending on the research goal.
Examples of Primary Sources include but are not limited to the following:
You typically find primary sources in archives. Archives can be associated with a larger organization such as a library, university, or government entity. They can also be independently run.
Source: https://libguides.princeton.edu/c.php?g=978573&p=7076239
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources are resources that are developed through an evaluation of primary source evidence. These can be scholarly or for general consumption.
Examples of Secondary Sources include but are not limited to the following:
Secondary sources are typically found among library resources.
Tertiary Sources
A tertiary source is a source that builds upon secondary sources to provide information. The most common example is an encyclopedia. Consider a particular revolution as a historical event. All the documents from the time of the event become primary sources. Someone that did not witness an event but are writing about it with their own analysis and opinions produce secondary sources. Then, someone reads those secondary sources and summarizes them in a tertiary source like an encyclopedia article.
Source: https://libguides.princeton.edu/c.php?g=978573&p=7076239
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