How to Create a Historiography: Step-By-Step Creation

What is a Historiography?
There are two common uses of the term "Historiography."

 
The historiography (general descriptor) of a topic is the sum total of the
interpretations of a specific topic written by past and current historians.
For example: "The historiography of the decision to use the atomic bomb on
Hiroshima changed over the years as new research questioned the former
consensus view that the decision to drop the atomic bomb was predicated on the
necessity to save American lives."
Thus you can talk about "the state of the historiography" at a point in time, or you
can "add historiography" to a paper to make it more complete.
 

A historiography (noun) or historiographical paper is an analysis of the

interpretations of a specific topic written by past historians. 
Specifically, a historiography identifies influential thinkers and reveals the shape of
the scholarly debate on a particular subject. 
The major purpose of writing a historiographical paper is to convey the scholarship
of other historians on a particular subject, rather than to analyze the subject itself.
A historiography can be a stand-alone paper, in which case your paper examines
the work completed by other historians. 
Alternately, a historiography can act as an introduction to a major research paper,
in which you will go on to add your own analysis.
Thus, a good historiography does the following:
Points out influential books and papers that exemplified, shaped, or revolutionized a
field of study.
Shows which scholars were most effective in changing the scope of the debate.
Describes the current trends in the field of study, such as which interpretation is
currently in the mainstream.
Allows the writer (that's you!) to position themselves in the field for their analysis.
Why is it Important?
The process of writing a historiography shows you the research that has been done
on your topic in the past.
This keeps you from having to reinvent the wheel.
 
A historiography can give you new angles to research and new interpretations to
dispute.
 
Most importantly, a historiography shows you which interpretations have been
challenged.
This keeps you from championing an interpretation using arguments that have
already been countered.

Step-By-Step Creation
Step 1: Find a topic
There are several useful strategies for coming up with a topic. The easiest method
is to use one of your assigned readings; adopt the topic that the author covers as
your own. You can use their bibliography as the starting point for the historiography
(especially if they critique previous positions), and branch out from there.
Alternately, you can brainstorm a topic from scratch. If you take that approach, try
using concept mapping to narrow down your topic to a specific area or field within
the overall framework of the class.
Try to choose a topic that interests you- it will make the reading and writing easier.
Step 2: Develop an annotated bibliography
Once you have a topic, start looking for works on your subject. A mixture of articles
and books can be useful, depending on the subject and time period:
Generally, books tend to be more influential and widely referenced than articles for
most older subjects.
For more modern subjects, articles will be more available, but books will still cover
more ground than most periodical articles.
Step 3: Evaluation of Authors' stances
There are different strategies you can use, depending on the type of source that
you are using.
Book Reviews: An excellent way to figure out the point of an author's work is to read
book reviews. This will also provide insight of how the reviewers (usually other
historians) respond to the author's thesis or argument. This is a great strategy for
creating the annotated bibliography.
Books: Watch the structure of the book; how does the author build their argument
and what do they imply is the most important part?
Once you get a feel for the general arguments in the field, you will be able to skim
through books searching for key terms.
Collections: With edited collections of articles or chapters, watch which topics were
included and what the general theme of the book seems to be. The argument of the
editor is shown by the scope of the combined articles.
Periodicals: These generally are easier to process; the trick is to figure out the
importance of the article to the field as a whole. Look to see if the article is
frequently cited by other authors writing about a similar subject.
Step 4: Write your historiography
 
One good tactic is to combine step 3 with step 4, plugging each source into the
overall framework as you go and thus saving you from having to reread every
source twice.
There are a number of ways to organize your historiography:
You can report your writers in chronological order, tracing changes in the field over
time.
You can talk about major schools of thought regarding your topic, and discuss each
one separately.
If you are writing a larger paper, you can integrate your historiography over the
course of the paper addressing the work of previous historians as they relate to
your own analysis.
The first two methods are generally more what is expected of you when you are
assigned to "write a historiography."

How to Write a Historiography: Step-By-Step Guide

A historiography or historiographical essay is an examination of different ways in
which historians have approached a particular topic. Unlike a research paper, it is
not a study of a historical issue, instead, it is an analysis of how the interpretation of
historical events by different scholars has changed over time.
A historiographical paper has to present a detailed overview of the main works on a
topic and summarize and evaluate the arguments of each of those works. For the
development of a clear and well-structured essay, you need to follow some crucial
steps.
Choose a Topic
There are several useful strategies for coming up with a topic. The easiest way is to
choose one of your assigned readings. Try to look for a topic that is really
interesting for you – it will make the reading and the writing process much easier.
Alternatively, you may brainstorm a topic from scratch. If you take that approach,
narrow down the topic to a specific area and focus on a particular historical event or
person.
Once you have a topic, start looking for works on your subject. Take advantage of a
mixture of various books, articles and publications. Generally, books tend to be
more influential and relevant, especially for older topics. However, for modern
issues, articles are more available.
Evaluate the Historians’ Viewpoints
Depending on the source you are using, there are some strategies you can apply to
evaluate the scholars’ stances:
Books – You need to watch the structure of the book; how the author builds the
argument and what he implies is the most important part.
Book reviews – The best way to find out the point of some work is to read a book
review. This will provide you with an insight of how other historians respond to the
author’s argument.
Periodicals – Look whether the article is often cited by other authors writing about
the same subject.
Write Your Historiography
There are several possible ways to organize your historiographical paper:
You can report writers in chronological order, monitoring changes over time.
You may present the main schools of thought regarding your topic and discuss each
one separately.
If you need to prepare a large paper, you can address the works of the previous
historians and describe how they relate to your own analysis.
All methods work for preparing a historiography.
Once you decide upon the organization, proceed with writing. You should begin
your essay with a thesis that presents the issue and introduces your sources. In
the main body of your paper, you have to develop the points of agreement or
disagreement. You have to analyze why different historians have different opinions
on the same subject. Is it due to the national affiliation, ideology or personal
experience? These questions go to the heart of your historiographical essay. In
a conclusion, briefly summarize the findings and access the credibility of the
sources you’ve used.
Make sure your paper is consistent and well-structured. Revise it carefully to
confirm that you’ve presented a cohesive picture of opinions and debate.