A well-planned research project will help you avoid retracing your steps or forgetting to do something altogether. In real life, however, research projects rarely go exactly as planned. They are more likely than not thrown off course by the unpredictable and unexpected sources. A healthy mixture of flexible planning, a leave-no-stone-unturned mentality, and serendipity are the stuff of good research.

So plan and then be flexible. As you progress through your research, take advantage of the unexpected. Adjust to dead ends. Follow unanticipated leads.

Here are some suggested steps that will help you consider what resources and effort your research will require. Amend this list to fit your own research needs. Make a new list of steps that apply to you.

Keep reading and you will find a discussion of each of these steps below.

1. Decide what you want to know.
2. Find out what has been done already.
3. Envision the overall research project.
4. Consider possible end products.
5. Make a list of necessary equipment, people, and materials.
6. Estimate how long your project will take.
7. Make a sequence of tasks and list when you will need to complete them.
8. Estimate the costs.
9. Identify and contact possible sources of funding.
10. Read Using Primary Sources.
11. Conduct background research.
12. Conduct primary source research.
13. Periodically review what you have found, where you are in your budgeting of time and funds.
14. Keep citation information, and file everything.
15. Evaluate.
16. Create an end product.
17. Store your primary sources and a copy of your end product archivally.

Discussion

1. Decide what you want to know. Why are you doing this? What do you want from it? Sometimes pure curiosity will drive your research. Sometimes you will have a primary source such as a diary or a trunkful of family papers and simply want to find out more. Explore the sources and reasons that you have and formulate a central question or issue.
2. Find out what has been done already to answer your question. You probably want to avoid reinventing the wheel, although much can be learned by retracing the steps of a seasoned researcher. Reformulate your question until it satisfies you.
3. Envision the overall research project. What will be the general overall look of your project? How big or small will it be? What will be the big goals of the project?
4. Consider possible end products. What do you want to have in your hands when you finish? Do you want to create a collection of related papers, write a book, give a report, write teaching materials, or make a film? Your end product will affect what kinds of sources and information you need to collect. A filmmaker, for instance, may need to collect and view many more visual sources than someone writing a book.
5. Make a list of necessary equipment, people, and materials that you will need to carry out your research.
6. Estimate how long your project will take from beginning to end. (And then I always have to allot at least 30-50% more time!) Decide if you want to spend that much time and amend your plan accordingly.
7. Make a sequence of tasks and list when you will need to complete them. This sequence will not be the one you end up following, exactly, but thinking ahead will help you foresee pitfalls.
8. Estimate the costs of your research. Include travel expenses, telephone and internet fees, photocopying, meals, new equipment you must acquire, user’s fees for libraries, and wages for helpers. Do you want to spend that much? Amend your plan accordingly.
9. Identify and contact possible sources of funding. If you will be depending on grants, you must find out about forms, deadlines, and when funding periods begin. Develop contingency plans to cover yourself if grant applications fail.
10. Look at Using Primary Sources in the History Toolkit. Move flexibly amongst steps (10), (11), (12), and (15).
11. Conduct background research to learn as much as you can about your source and the time and place from which it came.
12. Conduct primary source research. Explore the Doing History section of this site to see actual examples of how to explore and use sources.
13. Periodically review what you have found, where you are in your budgeting of time and funds, and amend your original research plan if warranted. For example, perhaps the sources that you thought were easily available don’t even exist. Perhaps you have discovered a great new source that no one knew would be useful to you. Perhaps you have run out of money. Perhaps your commitment to your project has grown as you have discovered more and more.
14. Keep citation information, and file everything according to a system that fits your question and sources.
15. Evaluate your research findings and cycle back or go on to the next step (16). You may need to ask for evaluation and help from colleagues or experts to decide whether to go back and do more or to go forward. Please remember, however, that if you feel what you are doing is valuable and fulfilling, then it doesn’t matter so much what other people think. Learn about accepted skills and standards of historical research, be accurate and thorough, build within a historical context, and then do what you think is best.
16. Create an end product. Organize and present your results.
17. Store your primary sources and a copy of your end product archivally. Ask your local historical society or librarian about archival storage materials and conditions. Avoid excess handling, dust, dirt, damp, acidic or corrosive storage materials, and extremes of temperature. Make two copies of everything, if possible, and store them in separate locations. If you do not wish to keep your results, inquire at local archives to see if they are interested in storing your work or making it accessible to other researchers. If you are doing family history, give copies of your findings to others in the family.