1. Finding a topic

The research assignment is likely to take up a significant amount of time during your course. Therefore, spending some time at the beginning of the course to define a topic that is good for you and that fits well within the course is important. The following tools are likely to help you along the way:

• The course textbook (especially the table of contents and the index)

• The course Blackboard site (look at the themes included in lectures)

• General online references related to your topic (for example, if you are taking Canadian history, spend some time browsing the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Make sure that the topic you decide to explore fits within the scope of the course (time-frame, geographic area, theme) and that it is doable within a semester (you are not trying to write a graduate thesis here).

At first, you may want to try to identify what themes, topics, or time periods spark your interest. Then, you may want to explore resources to see what happened around that theme, topic, or time period and anchor your topic to some events that can be used as case-studies. You may also want to brainstorm (alone or amongst friends) to explore various dimensions of a topic. This is especially useful in a course where you are not very familiar with the topics.

Not everyone will go about developing a research topic in the same way; it is a highly personal process. Also, it is a process that gets somewhat easier with practice. Don't hesitate to contact your instructor or a librarian for help developing or narrowing down a topic.

A good topic is one that:

• Fits within the scope of the course for which you are going to write the assignment

• Sparks your personal curiosity and interest

• Has the possibility for multiple points of view (especially in answering "how" or "why" questions)

• Generally covers at most 50 years of history and has relatively easily definable contours in theme, geographic extent, or people involved.

There may be a list of suggested topics for your specific course. You can use it for inspiration and develop your own topic from it too.

The Library has developed a resource to help develop research topics. Feel free to use the method that works for you..

In this phase of the project, don't hesitate to explore various options, to research widely, and to play around with possible topics until you settle on one. The time you will spend carefully choosing a topic that is interesting to you, doable, and that leads to a good investigation at this stage will save you energy, time, and possible frustration at a later stage. Also, remember that research is never done. Your topic will evolve as you go, and that is fine, as long as you don't lose focus once you have settled on a primary research question.

Finally, as you go around exploring, start taking notes about information that you find. It may save you time later!

2. Developing a Research Question

History is about making a point about the past, not just chronicling past events. That is why historians keep going back to the past to interpret what happened. Sometimes new interpretation come up because new documents become available. At other times, historians start asking different or new questions about the past, reexamining evidence that already was available. This is what makes history dynamic.

Once you have a topic, you must ask a specific research question about it, which will be answered in a thesis statement.

A good research question focuses on the interpretive aspects of a topic, not its factual dimension. In other words, it seeks the answer to a "why" or a "how" question, not a "what" "when", or a "who" (although at times these too can lead to questions of interpretation). A good research question is also one that does not try to cover too much material or time, but that explores an issue with some depth.

For example, let's say that you are taking a course in twentieth-century history and you had an interest in the U.S. participation in the conflict. In your explorations of related topics and documents, you landed on Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" speech to Congress in January 1918. When reading it, you were particularly struck by the fifth point about European colonies, which states: "A free, open­minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be determined." You know that the U.S. had been a British colony and that by the early twentieth century, it was starting to develop an empire of its own... but you are wondering how it was that the U.S. President of the time thought it could make a statement that seemed to possibly threaten its own colonial claims in Central / South America and in the Pacific. Your curiosity has also led you to explore resources that dealt with U.S. trades interests, postwar diplomacy around the creation of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, and the situation in European colonies during and after the First World War. Your initial research question could be something along the lines of:

• To what extent was Woodrow Wilson using the "Fourteen Points" speech to affirm the power of the United States in the world's balance of power at the expense of European colonial powers?

Remember that while you want to keep the general focus defined by the topic you have chosen at this stage, it may still be fine-tuned as your research evolves.

3. Creating a Thesis Statement

Once you have a research question, you are well on your way to crafting what will become the backbone of your research assignment: the thesis. Fundamentally, a thesis statement is an explanation of how or why a historical phenomenon or event happened. There are multiple types of theses, with varying levels of argumentativeness. The type of thesis chosen depends on factors such how controversial or ideologically-charged a topic is, how far in the past (or close to the present) it is, and on your personal preferences for writing style. However, a thesis statement should not be argumentative for the sake of argument. The thesis serves the topic and must be supported by available evidence. It is not simply the expression of a personal opinion or ideological stance, even though these may influence the thesis. The thesis will not be assessed for conformity to a given point of view, but rather for how well it allows to shed light on the topic using strong evidence.

It is not necessary (and often not advisable) to have a thesis that takes sides and tries to minimise another point of view ("I'm right, they're wrong, and here's why"). A thesis need not be argumentative in that sense. It must, however, affirm an interpretation of the topic, not just describe it.

It is likely that the first thesis statement that emerges at the beginning of researching a topic will change. That is perfectly acceptable. Remember that the thesis should flow from evidence, not the other way around. So if you intended to interpret the topic in a certain way, but find in researching the topic that the evidence against your initial point of view is overwhelming, don't dig in: reexamine your thesis and explore whether you may want to change it. If, however, you have strong evidence that seems to contradict accepted wisdom, it is perfectly fine to stick with this interpretation, provided that it is well supported.

A good thesis makes a historical point that is supported by evidence. It is not assessed by how apparently original it is.

A historical thesis does not have to do with the present (even though it may be inspired by present ideas). It makes a point about the past.

To continue with the example above, a thesis statement that may flow from the question of Wilson's use of the "Fourteen Points" speech as an affirmation of U.S. power, one could develop the following thesis statement:

• Wilson's "Fourteen Points" speech affirmed self-proclaimed American principles in government, trade, and international relations and aimed at weakening European economic and political influence by way of reducing the economic strength of traditional colonial powers.

As with the topic in general, the initial thesis statement may evolve through the research process. However, before coming up with a thesis, you should already have done enough documentary research to be somewhat confident that it has some strength.

4. Marshaling Evidence

Once you have a thesis statement, the final challenge to writing a good research essay is to organise the evidence in a way that it supports the thesis while not neglecting contradictory points. This is a delicate balancing act that starts with the development of an outline for the essay.

Undergraduate history essays typically should have three main points to the body. Depending on the thesis, these may be organised in a variety of ways:

• Chronologically or in reverse chronology (by time)

• Thematically

• Point - Counterpoint - Synthesis

• Any other way that fits the argumentative requirements of the thesis

This is the part of the research assignment that will require the most time and attention to detail. It involves the following:

• Documentary research: finding books, scholarly articles, and other resources where evidence will be found

• Reading and more reading

• Careful note-taking of anything that helps in understanding the topic (not just the points that support the thesis)

• Organising ideas around three key points that support the thesis while making room for counterpoints

Once again, every topic is different and so is every researcher. With time, you will refine your research strategy and find something that works for you. So it is difficult to assess when you have, for example, enough sources to make a strong point. However, if you have had to read a bit, then come up with more questions and do some more research, and then go over that process a couple of times, you are certainly on the right track. Knowing when you are done comes down to when you have a sense that you understand the topic in its various levels of complexity and you are confident enough that your thesis will hold water, meaning that it is supported by enough evidence from quality sources.

As you go, however, toy around with various ways of organising your evidence. Try them. Draft sentence descriptions of the three main parts of your argument and see how it works. Remember that while the essay will be divided in three parts, this does not mean three paragraphs: there will be several paragraphs, each developing a specific idea and related evidence, in each part of your argument.

Following the above topic, research question, and thesis, the outline may look something like:

• Thesis: Wilson's "Fourteen Points" speech affirmed self-proclaimed American principles in government, trade, and international relations and aimed at weakening European economic and political influence by way of reducing the economic strength of traditional colonial powers.

  1. Wilson drew from the history of the United States to affirm that colonies that have reached a certain level of development need to be granted independence, thereby seeking to create allies from European colonies such as India, where a strong independence movement was already afoot.

  2. Wilson's affirmation of "freedom of navigation" (point 2) echoed a long-standing American trade principle that sought to weaken Britain's historical domination of international trade. As Britain was the strongest European economy and its economy was based on colonial trade, attacking its trade would result in weakening the economic power of Europe as a whole and the possible expansion of U.S. economic interests in European affairs.

  3. The affirmation of the "principle of nationalities" based on American democratic ideals undid the principle of the balance of powers established following the Congress of Vienna and divided Europe into small countries over which the United States could more easily affirm its economic, if not political, interests.

Using a sentence outline (not just point forms) helps to clarify how each points will be developed and how they relate back to the thesis.

5. Self-reflection

Many courses require a self-reflective essay. Here are some pointers. This portion of the essay should be between one and two pages long.

The key objectives for a self-reflection are:

• To assess oneself as a researcher / presenter / writer

• To outline strategies for one's future success

Self-reflections only work if they are honest and if they are future-oriented. There are no "right" or "wrong" ways of progressing, but one tool is to honestly assess one's performance in regard to self-determined learning objectives related to the course learning outcomes.

A key tool for self-assessment is the keeping of a research journal, in which you should document research steps and strategies used, tools and resources that were used, and to do this systematically. Document things that worked well and also obstacles encountered and how they were overcome. This means that the outcome of your project is not just a research essay, but also a learning process about history and about yourself as a learner. As learning is a lifelong process, keeping the habit of keeping a journal to document one's professional growth over time is a good idea. That being said, the self-reflection should not include everything that was put in the journal, nor is it simply a summary of it, but it should include the following elements:

• An assessment of yourself as a researcher and presenter:

  • Did you set objectives for yourself as a learner at the beginning of the project? If so, to what extent did you reach them?

  • What were the steps / tools / processes that worked well?

  • Where were there obstacles? Can you tell why they arose? How did you overcome them?

  • What resources were most useful in the process of researching / writing / presenting your paper?

  • What would you do differently if you had to this project again? Why? What would be the expected outcomes?

  • What about time-management?

  • How useful was feedback received in the course of researching and writing this project?

• Assessment of yourself working with a partner (if applicable):

  • How well did you coordinate work with your partner?

  • What were areas of conflict, if any? How were they resolved?

  • How was the workload distributed between the two of you? Was that satisfactory to both parties?

  • Note that the self-reflection for a team project can be done individually or as a team. If individual self-reflections are submitted, only one partner submits the main assignment with their self-reflection, while the other only submits their self-reflective essay.

• Relate the project to the learning outcomes of the course: how did this research project help you achieve the course outcomes?

A self-reflection should be honest, but not riddled with accusations or guilt; provide feedback to yourself in a way that can help you grow as a learner and improve your skills over time.