This seminar on European history has as its focus the "Great War". World War I, or the First World War, as it is also known, is a wide-ranging era of history with many, many aspects suitable for the history student researcher to choose from. With so many choices, the prospect of narrowing your research topic to a manageable aspect can seem overwhelming.
Before investing too much time and effort, think about what you know about several history topics that interest you and various aspects of those topics (gender, legal, social or cultural roles, the list goes on...) Review your notes and readings for terms, events and names of important people. Once you have this information and before choosing a specific focus on a topic, you should survey what is accessible. This means not only can you get your hands on it, but can you read the language it is created in or are there translations available? If you can't find accessible materials on your topic, you are creating barriers for yourself and working much harder than you need to for a successful paper.
What do you need?
- Primary and secondary sources. It cannot be stressed enough that PRIMARY SOURCES are the most important element of historical research. For more information on what constitutes a primary source, refer to this page.
- There is a great deal available in the secondary literature, so the challenge will be to locate primary source materials relevant to your topic. The primary source materials will not only be vital to your research, but in reviewing what you find, you may have questions, that in finding answers become the focus of your paper.
