How to organise your archival research and find the primary sources you need

Author / Creator

Stanley, Liz, 1947- author

Available as

Online

Summary

Archival research is exciting and also puzzling. It offers the opportunity to find out new and interesting things about the past, but what exactly archival researchers do can seem mysterious. At ba...

Archival research is exciting and also puzzling. It offers the opportunity to find out new and interesting things about the past, but what exactly archival researchers do can seem mysterious. At basis this involves reading much paper-but which papers and why, and how to analyze them is rarely spelled out. However, a range of helpful advice can be provided, and this "how-to" essay gives hands-on guidance on all stages of organizing archival research, from starting off, and producing a workplan and research design, through the details of working on collections and the boxes that documents are organized in, to reviewing the work done. It discusses all the different aspects by working through some examples of archival research, which are connected with the imperialist entrepreneur Cecil Rhodes, the Chartered Company he was head of carrying out an invasion of Matabeleland (Zimbabwe), and the role of missionaries in this. The preliminary work needed to ensure the researcher arrives in an archive well prepared is set out. Effective organizational practices for working on collections and documents are discussed. Good practices in setting up research files, recording metadata, and writing summarizing notes on documents, are recommended. Methodological pointers for ensuring knowledge is gained about collections in their entirety, as well as strategies for working on individual documents, are provided. The detailed contents of the guide will aid the researcher in completing their intended workplan, having enhanced their knowledge base, carried out their research project efficiently, and produced appropriate data for answering key research questions.

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