Frequently Asked Questions

History 467 Research Paper

Since the is to write a research paper, the bulk of your paper should be based on primary sources, plural. If you're working on a single event, person, or organization, you should consult more than one kind of primary sources, such as autobiographies, editorials, organizational papers, press releases, etc. If your topic lends itself to research in a single kind of source--such as newspapers from a certain time and place--you should read as many as you can. When I read your final paper, one of the things I'll be looking for is the range and depth of your research, so be sure to use evidence from a variety of sources in your final paper, too.

Can I use grandparents or other family members or acquaintances as primary sources?

Yes, you're welcome to use people you know as sources, though they should not be the only primary sources for your paper. If you do decide to interview someone you know (or don't know), check the Oral History Association's web page at http://omega.dickinson.edu/organizations/oha/ for suggestions on how to conduct, record, transcribe, and cite interview materials.

It's a good idea to start now getting in the habit of writing papers for as broad an audience as possible. So don't assume that because your paper is being read by a professor, you can leave out all sorts of information and expect her to fill it in for you. Imagine that your paper is going to be read by someone much like you: a smart college student who until now knew very little about this particular topic, and include enough information so that this imaginary student could understand the person, event, or process you're writing about.

Warning: Although it's important to include enough background information in your paper, the way you include it is just as important as what you include. It's generally not a good idea to start a paper with paragraphs (much less pages) of material that is useful only for background, because the delay in getting to your argument will make your reader impatient and unhappy. So try to work your background information into paragraphs that also make a point important to your own historical argument.

Yes, it's perfectly all right to use "I" in a paper. It's a lot less awkward than "this reader says..." or "one might think..." or the even worse "every schoolboy knows..." which is not only awkward but also sexist (see below). Don't use "I" too often, though, because while your paper is your opinion--and you don't need to disguise that--the focus should be on the subject at hand and not on the writer.

Maybe. Don't use "we" if it will sound like you want to create a special in-group between you (the paper writer) and a special (and therefore exclusive) subset of your readers. Use "we" only in the inclusive sense, that is, if you mean you (the paper writer) and readers of every possible variety (sex, race, age, experience, etc).

This question comes up more often than you might think in history papers because primary sources from earlier periods of time often use phrases, labels, and names that were once commonplace but are now considered offensive ("Colored" for African American; "Oriental" for Asian American; "man" for "people"; etc.)