History includes anything that happens after the present, including anything from 1 second ago to thousands of years ago and onward. Events that happened hundreds of years before our time can be looked back upon to review and to help historians understand the “what”, “why”, and “how”, those events came to be and shaped the world we are a part of. History is studied so humanity can be prepared once history starts to repeat itself and to understand the decisions of the past. We do history by applying historical thinking while researching. This includes searching for primary and secondary sources, looking at the biographies and citations of historians who compose published essays or articles and creating your own argument.
Primary and sources help us gain a better understanding of the topic that is being researched by showing us the exact time and place an event happened. Primary sources are ones that were created in the time period that is being looked at. This can include paintings, letters, official documents, and books. Without them, looking into the past and trying to figure out how events transpired would be particularly difficult.
Secondary sources are sources that were written about the same event, but after it happened. Secondary sources are often about primary sources and the authors own understanding of such. These articles, essays, and documents provide people with different points of views and interpretations that create discussion, therefore increasing the knowledge base even further. Though historians keep the past alive, sometimes their analysis can come with certain biases that influence their writing.
While researching topics, it is a great idea to look into who the author is and the sources they cited to improve your comprehension of their paper. As with all people, they hold their own personal beliefs and it will have an impact on their writing. Not only will their beliefs be a factor in creating bias’s, but their race and religion as well. For instance, if you are reading a paper about if abortion should be illegal or not, and then researching the author you notice that he or she is a feminist, that will influence their writing. This is why to develop a larger perspective, you should look at the author’s sources they’ve cited. This will you lead you to understand how the author deciphered whatever information they used, or you may disagree with the author and believe the source intended to say something else. Everyone has their own opinions, but it is a historian’s job to read between the bias’s and form his or her own views about the topic using all sources to expand their own insight.
After you have done the proper research and sifted through numerous sources, it is a good idea to apply critical thinking to your own paper. This is best done by using primary sources and academic journals as evidence to back up your argument that you have formed through investigating others. While writing a paper it is extremely important to give credit where due, using the Chicago citation method. Creating an argument while using evidence to prove your point, you are inspiring others to transcribe their historical thoughts to paper.
Doing history can be done by applying the correct research methods such as using many primary and secondary sources, knowing how to identify biases, and using that information to create your own interpretation. History is a topic that does not get as much attention as it deserves, but there are hundreds of topics to reflect on and see how events contributed to the society we live in today. Thinking historically will broaden your outlook on the world, and create a more thoughtful environment that intrigues others