The Princeton Guide to Historical Research - (Skills for Scholars) by Zachary Schrag

About the Book

"The Princeton Guide to Historical Research provides students, scholars, and professionals with the skills they need to practice the historian's craft in the digital age, while never losing sight of the fundamental values and techniques that have defined historical scholarship for centuries. Zachary Schrag begins by explaining how to ask good questions and then guides readers step-by-step through all phases of historical research, from narrowing a topic and locating sources to taking notes, crafting a narrative, and connecting one's work to existing scholarship. He shows how researchers extract knowledge from the widest range of sources, such as government documents, newspapers, unpublished manuscripts, images, interviews, and datasets. He demonstrates how to use archives and libraries, read sources critically, present claims supported by evidence, tell compelling stories, and much more. Featuring a wealth of examples that illustrate the methods used by seasoned experts, The Princeton Guide to Historical Research reveals that, however varied the subject matter and sources, historians share basic tools in their quest to understand people and the choices they made"--

Book Synopsis

The essential handbook for doing historical research in the twenty-first century

The Princeton Guide to Historical Research provides students, scholars, and professionals with the skills they need to practice the historian's craft in the digital age, while never losing sight of the fundamental values and techniques that have defined historical scholarship for centuries.

Zachary Schrag begins by explaining how to ask good questions and then guides readers step-by-step through all phases of historical research, from narrowing a topic and locating sources to taking notes, crafting a narrative, and connecting one's work to existing scholarship. He shows how researchers extract knowledge from the widest range of sources, such as government documents, newspapers, unpublished manuscripts, images, interviews, and datasets. He demonstrates how to use archives and libraries, read sources critically, present claims supported by evidence, tell compelling stories, and much more.

Featuring a wealth of examples that illustrate the methods used by seasoned experts, The Princeton Guide to Historical Research reveals that, however varied the subject matter and sources, historians share basic tools in the quest to understand people and the choices they made.

• Offers practical step-by-step guidance on how to do historical research, taking readers from initial questions to final publication
• Connects new digital technologies to the traditional skills of the historian
• Draws on hundreds of examples from a broad range of historical topics and approaches
• Shares tips for researchers at every skill level

Review Quotes

"A clear, accessible, and extensive how-to guide for the high school student or the seasoned professor who desires to hone this craft. . . . This book is like a graduate student acquiring an additional advisor with plenty of nuts-and-bolts tips, or a tenured scholar gaining a thoughtful colleague, not down the hall, but on the shelf. It is a valuable resource for the historian of any ability or in any stage of the research process and likely to become common classroom reading for introductory history courses."---Justin McGeary, Fides et Historia

"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"

"This book is quite simply a gem. . . . Schrag's accessible style and comprehensive treatment of the field make this book a valuable resource."---Alan Sears, Canadian Journal of History

"This volume is a complete and sophisticated addition to any scholar's library and a boon to the curious layperson. . . . [A] major achievement."-- "Choice Reviews"

"Winner of the James Harvey Robinson Prize, American Historical Association"

About the Author

Zachary M. Schrag is professor of history at George Mason University and the author of Ethical Imperialism and The Great Society Subway. His teaching website is historyprofessor.org. He lives in Arlington, Virginia. Twitter @zacharyschrag