By Jason DeBlanco Class of 2012
One thing you should commit yourself to thinking is that the research is going to be tedious and time consuming. Keep reminding yourself to be patient and be aware of all the leads you come in contact with. To be thorough, it takes tedious amounts of searching and reading published secondary sources on your topic to gain a general context and a comfortable grasp of where the next phase of your research will take you. The more leads you take note of, the more opportunities you have for success so make sure to write things down. Like any subject you take on, it also helps to have a good amount of prior interest in your topic because you are going to be spending a lot of long hours with the subject if you want to get something substantial out of it. You are not going to want to slave over pages and pages of microfilm on something you have no interest in.
The research can be tedious at times but if done in a logical order, starting with a general figure and moving into individual leads you’ve gathered, the pace will gradually quicken. Starting out by looking at information and evidence already published is the golden rule of any beginning research project. It not only acclimates you better to the subject but is a convenient and useful tool to help you gain a bearing on where you will further explore. It also helps to make a list of keywords dealing with your topic so that way you can have a physical representation of what your trying to look for and not just keeping it all in your head. Not only that, but many times, helpful primary sources are cited and techniques by which the author came about these documents are indicated which will hopefully spawn some creativity in your own research. One thing I learned in researching Black Civil War era Carlisle is that you need to be creative in order to find leads. Obscure topics demand creativity. Just like you should not limit yourself to primary sources, do not limit yourself to the locations which provide secondary and primary sources. Explore all available archives, databases and libraries at your disposal and outside of your geographic location and ask the helpful attendants at these places.
One of the last important notes and for me, one of the overlooked things in research is what you would consider failing. As Professor Pinsker pointed out, even if you find nothing, the most important thing is the physical process of research and the various techniques and tricks you pick up along the way that you keep with you. Becoming familiar with the various databases, search techniques, and all the facets and facilities at the archives will only increase the efficiency at which you find information. While you may not always find what you’ve been looking for, the various process and practices that led you to this point will do you much more good in the future.