Practical Research

11th edition
Paul D. Leedy & Jeanne Ellis Ormrod

Chapter 10

Historical Research

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Historical Research

• Study of the meaning of events

• Accumulation and interpretation of
facts
• Factually supported rationale to explain
how and why events happened

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson

Practical Research: Planning & Design, 11th Edition
Education, Inc.
Leedy & Ormrod
All Rights Reserved
 Data Sources

• Primary sources
 Original data that appear at the time of
or soon after the event under study
 Letters, diaries, sermons, laws, census
reports, etc.
 Narrative/oral histories and interview
data

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson

Practical Research: Planning & Design, 11th Edition
Education, Inc.
Leedy & Ormrod
All Rights Reserved
 Data Sources

• Secondary sources
 Works of historians who have
interpreted and written about primary
sources
 Newspaper accounts
 Books and pamphlets
 Government records

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson

Practical Research: Planning & Design, 11th Edition
Education, Inc.
Leedy & Ormrod
All Rights Reserved
Finding and Handling Historical
Records
• Have a specific plan for acquisition,
organization, storage, and retrieval of
data
 Archival collections may allow some
form of reproduction (camera,
photocopies)
 Online databases are often accessible

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson

Practical Research: Planning & Design, 11th Edition
Education, Inc.
Leedy & Ormrod
All Rights Reserved
 Evaluating and Interpreting
Historical Data
• Review the data sources for:
 External evidence: Is an artifact or
document authentic
• Carbon dating, handwriting analysis,
identification of the type of ink and
paper, vocabulary usage
 Internal evidence: Does the source
contain some clue to its creator’s intent

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson

Practical Research: Planning & Design, 11th Edition
Education, Inc.
Leedy & Ormrod
All Rights Reserved
Other Forms of Historical Research

• Psychological and conceptual research

 Concerned with the origin,
development, and influence of ideas and
concepts
• Searching for roots
 Focused backwards, looking for
potential causal factors

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson

Practical Research: Planning & Design, 11th Edition
Education, Inc.
Leedy & Ormrod
All Rights Reserved
 Writing a Historical Research
Report
• State your own argument early
• Provide examples to support any
assertion that you make
• Give the fairest possible treatment of
any perspectives that differ from your
own
• Point out the weaknesses of your own
argument

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010 by Pearson

Practical Research: Planning & Design, 11th Edition
Education, Inc.
Leedy & Ormrod
All Rights Reserved