Let’s get some context and prepare a draft/detailed outline of your final project.
1) Go to wikipedia (yes – wikipedia!) and find out what you can about the historical context of your research topic. Remember that the most relevant information in wikipedia is at the end of each article, in the footnotes and sources. Follow those to the origin of the information. Decide wether this is reliable, or if you need to do more research. If you are writing a family history, consider breaking it down in decade. If you are researching the history of a particular technology or legal construct, assess the development over time. Make sure you cite the specific article(s) you research in Wikipedia
2) Write a) an outline of the historical context of your project, b) a summary of the topic. Be specific about your geographical, topical, personal and temporal decisions. Make a timeline – this helps establish change over time.
3) Include an annotated bibliography of the sources you will use. An annotated bibliography is a list of the evidence you have found that will help you research your final project. Include information about where you found the evidence. Does it come from an online archive? If so, which one? Is it an object in a museum? Is it a text you found in a book in a library. Think about the provenance of your evidence, and ask yourself if this constitutes a reliable source.
Do this in 250 words or more, and remember CITATIONS CITATIONS CITATIONS!
