Craft of Historical Research

Isaac Land is Emeritus Professor of History at Indiana State University, USA, where he received two university-wide teaching awards. From 2018-2021, he served on the American Historical Association’s Raymond J. Cunningham Prize awards committee, which recognizes excellent undergraduate research and writing. The author of War, Nationalism, and the British Sailor, 1750–1850 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), he also co-edits the Palgrave Macmillan series Global Studies in Social and Cultural Maritime History and the Sage journal Coastal Studies & Society.

• 1: Introduction.- Part I: Articulating Your Vision.- 2: Getting Your Bearings.- 3: Encountering the Experts.- 4: Questioning Primary Sources.- 5: Finding a Place to Stand.- Part II: Selecting Your Focus.- 6: Planning for Success in the Archives.- 7: Planning for Success in the Digital Realm.- 8: Designing Your Project.- Part III: Developing and Supporting Your Thesis.- 9: Imagining Claims and Counterclaims.- 10: Supporting Claims with Evidence.- Part IV: Writing Up.- 11: Structuring Your Paper.- 12: Crafting Your Exposition.- 13: Working with Feedback.- Part V: Looking Ahead.- 14: Joining a Community of Scholars.- 15: Exploring Alternatives.