Tips for Students

How to Write a Good Research Paper

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Photo: Körber Foundation

Looking for ideas and information?

It is good fun to research on your own and discover something new. But the beginning can be very difficult. Here you will find out, where and how you can start your own investigation:

Organise your impressions: brainstorming

What are your immediate connections with the subject? Listen around! Think – for example – of:

  • newspaper articles and books, films and television documentaries.
  • streets, places, monuments or festivities which refer to an apt chapter in history.
  • photographs, diaries and letters from your family – in these you can sometimes find the most interesting ideas.
  • talk to other people, classmates or your grandmother and grandfather, they may give you hints and ideas. Moreover, while listening and explaining you will realise which subject really interests you. Your first spontaneous thoughts should definitely be kept in mind, for example in form of a cluster/mindmap.

Reading books: libraries

Go to public libraries (or to the school library) and take a look at:

  • local chronicles
  • books dealing with local and regional history Make notes while reading!

The decision

Settle on one subject now and consider whether you can do it in the given time frame:

  • Do you have enough primary sources and are they available to you?
  • Can you clearly outline the subject so that you are able to concentrate on single aspects and do not suffocate under heaps of material?

Looking for primary sources: archives and historical societies

While searching for information on your subject, get in touch with one of the local or regional archives close by, in order to research files, ancient regional newspapers or maps.

Looking for primary sources: interview contemporary witnesses:

You ought not only study literature and files, but also talk to people who experienced history themselves. Here are some suggestions for an interview with a contemporary witness.

Create a (time)plan

The organisation of your investigation is very important. Therefore, it is helpful to create an overview:

  • Which aspects belong to your subject, what kind of information have you already got, what is still lacking?
  • Who are your fellow investigators?
  • How much time can you spend on your research and when are other activities – e.g. excursions, exams or holidays – more important? From seeking a subject until presenting the result: This is a suggestion of what a time-plan can look like, and here you can check your plan by checklist.

Describing your topic

You have found a subject, created a time-plan, gathered first information. But how do you continue now?

What you need above all now is: good questions! Consider what you want to find out in your investigation.

Structure your story

You have found answers to your questions and you have gathered historical information. Now it is important to get an overview and order your material by structuring.

You can choose between two main options of structuring: the chronological structure or the systematic structure.

chronological structure:
you could depict – for example – the history of an organisation from 1920 until today, during a period of time based on the general history of your country. It is also possible to emphasise radical changes within the organisation itself as turning points of your chronology. However, it is very important to stress the contents of your chapters! "1945" as a heading does not mean anything. Therefore, you should add information regarding content.

systematic structure:
a systematic order is the best method when dealing with problems. If you write about "starting an animal shelter in our town" you could – for instance – describe the function of the owners in one chapter, in order to go into more detail with the "customers", the governmental authorities, the animals, etc. in the following chapters. Thus, you show that you examined the subject from several different angles.

Why did history happen like this? Explain what you have found!

Primary sources from the past cannot tell neutrally "how it really was"! Primary sources give a more or less visible subjective view of the events, therefore you should be careful and critical:

Be critical!
Primary sources from the past cannot tell neutrally "how it really was"! Primary sources give a more or less visible subjective view of the events, therefore you should be careful and critical:

  • written sources: examine their origin and its background as well as their intention and ideological tendency.
  • Reports from contemporary witnesses: they may have gaps in their memories or a blurred view.

Get different opinions!
Different heads, different opinions: the proverb is true! Look for a second source, which takes a look at the subject from another point of view.

What does it all mean?

You have depicted and critically examined the facts and sources. Now the central question has to be asked: What is the importance of each source and the conclusion of the whole investigation?

A mass of opinions from different perspectives – and you are in the middle.

  • Consider and explain why one source judges the situation from a different point of view than the other source. Which approach seems to be more reasonable?
  • Consider what speaks in favour of the one and of the other approach in your opinion. If you have found a contradiction that you cannot explain, describe it.

Evaluate your results!

You have found the historical traces of your subject, depicted it critically and you have given explanations. Now the evaluation is still missing. Generally you should ask yourselves the following questions:

  • What was positive and what was negative within the history that you examined?
  • Has the example that you studied had any consequences and has it changed anything?
  • Does the result of your investigation have any meaning for today?
  • What was most surprising and remarkable to you?

Present your results!

The main importance of a study is certainly the gathering of information along with their analysis and evaluation. But, nevertheless, the result should be presented in an appealing way. But remember to chose a way that meets your competition criteria.

Most common are brochures or books in foolscap.
But you may want to make use of a completely different form of presentation, for example:

  • a cartoon or collage
  • an historical sightseeing tour of a city
  • a model
  • a board game or quiz
  • an historical role-play
  • a slide presentation or photo exhibition
  • a radio play or video
  • a CD-ROM If you decide to use one of the alternative forms, don't forget to write an instruction, explaining in detail which historical discoveries your study is based on.