OBJECTIVES

General Objectives

To define historical research and identify the guidelines to

effective writing of historical research

Specific Objectives

To identify four major activities done in making historical research;

To identify different sources of historical data;
To identify and differentiate two types of critical analysis of
historical data, and to identify the purposes of external criticism;
To identify the synthesis of historical events
To identify the guidelines to effective writing of historical research
To identify the deficiencies in historical research
To identify the characteristics of historical research
To determine the importance of historical research and when to
use historical research

SYNTHESIZING HISTORICAL EVENTS

In writing a history, there are certain problems or processes involved among

which are:

1. Identification and definition of the problem

The problem must be delimited to a reasonable scope.

 The researcher must select a problem which is within his professional
competence to tackle.

2. Formulation of hypothesis

To guide him in his investigation

Without any hypothesis, he would be searching for facts aimlessly.

The hypotheses should state exactly what historical data must be found.

The specific questions raised at the beginning of the inquiry serve as the
hypotheses

3. Inductive-deductive reasoning

In inductive reasoning, related particulars are given first, that lead to the
formulation of a generalization

In deductive reasoning, the generalization is given first before giving the

particulars.

4. Historical perspective

There are two ways in evaluating historical events.

First one is to evaluate historical event or practice in terms of

contemporaneous events, conditions, practices, and traditions existing as
the time the event occurred and in the same environment.

Second one is to judge the event in terms of present day events,

conditions, practices and traditions in terms of those existing in other
places which are better known.

5. Central theme or principle of synthesis

In writing the history of some events, institutions, or regions, there must

be a central theme around which the history is woven.

GUIDELINES TO EFFECTIVE WRITING OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH

There are certain guidelines to an effective writing of historical research among

which are:

Mastery of materials
 o Effective modern historical writing shows evidence of scholarship,
research, and mastery of materials, presented without ostentation.
Historians have a good mastery of their materials before writing their
historical report, not necessarily memorizing the facts but a full
knowledge of the events they are writing about. May it be added that
the materials must be authentic, genuine and adequate
Working Outline
o Before note-taking has gone far, a preliminary outline is necessary to
guide the selection and arrangement of notes; then, as accumulated
material is digested, the outline can be revised radically as
necessary. Like any other writing activity, a historian must have a
good working outline before starting to write. A working outline
shows the direction toward which the writing is heading to. A good
working outline gives continuity to the writing of the historical
report.
Progression
o Good history has progression; that is, it moves forward, although it
does not show in mechanical fashion the original condition, the action,
and the results. This movement of progression should employ a thesis
or principle of synthesis as a theory of causation to explain the cause-
effect relationships. In writing history, there must be logical
sequences of events. The causes and their effects; the effects and
their causes must be given due emphasis. The whys of events must
be stressed.
Emphasis on Major Elements
o The major elements in any place of effective writing, historical or
otherwise, stand out in bold relief like the large cities, rivers, bodies
of water, and mountain ranges on a map. A good working outline, a
guiding thesis, and more detailed generalizations for the major
sections of the work are essential to the accomplishment of this
purpose and the subordination of the details. This frequently means
that painstakingly gathered data must be discarded to promote
condensation off the scene, the main actors and events of the
narrative.
Art of narration
o While the purpose of history is not primarily to entertain or to please,
there is no reason why good history should not possess literary
excellence. Both the science of research and the literary art of
narration are essential for effective historical work. The concept of
history as an art, however, should not be pushed to the point of
 filling in missing details through sheer play of the imagination,
merely for the sake of completeness and symmetry, as does the
painter or the poet; therefore, certain gaps or missing links may be
a characteristic of authentic history.
Dramatization, rhetoric and style
o A historical composition can be written simply and clearly, without
excessive dramatization, exaggerated rhetorical flourishes, or undue
appeal to the emotions. In other words, historical writing should
possess the characteristic of a good story. Dramatization and
rhetoric are frequently overdone when narrating the splendor of
kings and the noise of battle in political and military history.

DEFICIENCIES IN HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Borg has pointed out some typical errors found in historical research conducted
by graduate students in education: (Cited by Manuel and Medel, p.31)

A research area is selected in which sufficient evidence is not

available to conduct a worthwhile study or test the hypothesis
adequately.
Excessive use of secondary sources of information is frequently found
in studies not dealing with recent events.
Attempts to work on a broad and poorly defined problem.
Historical data are poorly and inadequate evaluated.
Personal biased tends to influence the research procedures.
The facts are not synthesized or integrated into meaningful
generalization.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Historical research has five characteristics according to Helmstadter. (Cited by

Treece and Treece, Jr., pp. 167-168)

Observations in historical research cannot be repeated in the same manner

as in laboratory experiments and descriptive surveys.
The researcher must find satisfaction in spending vast amounts of time in
the library and in pursuing minute details in relation to the topic under
study.
A historical project is usually conducted by one person.
 A hypothesis is not always necessary in historical research; inferences are
made more often from the bits of information gathered to produce the
general description of the event or the situation.
The writing style of the written report tends to be more flexible because the
researcher wishes to present the facts and information in an interesting
manner.
In addition, data are often ideas, concepts, and opinions and hence,
conclusions, generalizations, and inferences become subjective. No two
investigators would reach the same conclusions in a given instance

IMPORTANCE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Historical research is important due to the following:

A study of the past makes people understand the present better, especially
the factors affecting the present. For instance, the Philippines is a Catholic
nation because for more than three centuries she was occupied by Spain,
a zealous Catholic propagator, and she will remain Catholic for a long, long
time to come. History has a three-fold purpose: giving us a knowledge of
the past, a better understanding of the present, and a means of predicting
the future. (Lacuesta, etal, p. vii)
Historical information serves as a preliminary to reform. Mistakes of the
past may be avoided if we have a knowledge of them.
People become more open to change if they are well informed about the
past, especially about tragic events.
People are motivated to respect the contributors of the people of the past to
the present state of things, especially those of heroes.

WHEN TO USE HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Historical research may be utilized when it is desired to write a history of any

of the following:

Any geographical area or place, say, a historical site, barangay, town,

province, region, country, or the world for that matter.
Any institution, say, a school, a club or association, courtship and
marriage or any other custom, the army, Christmas, government,
communism, Christianity, etc.
Any important historical event, say, the Battle of Bataan, the Leyte
Landing, the Liberation of manila, all of which occurred during the
occupation of the Philippines by the Japanese during the World War II,
etc.