U.S. History Research Paper

Shop for a topic that interests you, and read background information.

Pre-made Questions:

Browse Questions & Read Background Information in the Taking Sides Books!

Browse Questions & Read Background Information on Your Teacher-provided List of Questions

Browse Questions & Read Background Information in History in Dispute:

• This provides a list of debatable questions from the multivolume set: History in Dispute; housed in Gale US History
• Click "Subjects" to narrow (to the right)
• Use "Search Within" to narrow (to the right)
• Browse the list and select any of interest to further investigate

No Pre-made Questions:

Topic Shop & Read Background Information in the GALE US History Database:

• This is a database focusing on US history with a variety of source types.
• Click "Browse Topics" in the top left.
• Browse the list and select any topic of interest to further investigate
• Focus on "Reference" sources to gather background information.

Topic Shop & Read Background Information in Oxford Research Encyclopedias:

• This is a collection of in-depth articles built with the serious researcher in mind.
• Browse by subject (top left)
• Search any time period, war, movement, group you are interested in
• Browse search results and skim the summaries for question ideas and background
• Navigate using the table of contents to the left.

Topic Shop & Read Background Information in Google and Wikipedia

• Google any time period of interest + US history
• Use Wikipedia!
  • world war II United States
  • world war II America
  • Once in an article try the following
    • Use the table of contents to lead you to a more specific topic 
    • Look for debate, legacy, controversy - This could lead you to a debate about your topic
    • Control F + historian - This could show you what different historians have argued about a topic

Create your research question.

• After conducting background research, determine what aspect of your topic to investigate.
• Create a concept map or a list of ideas to help brainstorm ideas.
  • Consider the issues, mystery, debate, problem, or controversies.
  • What interests you?  What needs to be solved?
• Use question starters if needed, to help create a question: 
  • Who
  • What
  • Why
  • When 
  • Where
  • Which
  • How
  • To what extent
• Put your question through some tests:

  • Answerable but not obvious?

  • Open? (not yes or no answer)

  • Simple?  (not multiple questions in one)

  • Debatable? (multiple perspectives)

  • Judgement or evaluation needed?

  • Narrow and focused enough?

• You will eventually develop sub-questions that support your primary question.
  • EXAMPLE: 
    • Main question:  To what extent was Harry Truman justified in dropping the atomic bomb?
    • Sub question: How extensive was the damage and loss of life in Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
    • ****The sub question still answers the primary question.****
• You may find your primary research question changes slightly (or a lot) after beginning your research.  That's okay!

Select and brainstorm your keywords.

1. State your research question/topic

   • EXAMPLE: "How do cigarette companies target children with their advertising?"

2. Identify main concepts:

   • EXAMPLE:  "How do cigarette companies target children with their advertising?"

3. Brainstorm synonyms, related terms, broader terms, scientific/technical terms, and more specific terms based on your own background knowledge:

   • EXAMPLE:

     • Cigarette companies:  Philip Morris, Camel, Imperial

     • Children:  child, adolescent, teen, teenager, students, youth

     • Advertising:  ads, marketing, commercials, promotions, product placement

4. Avoid the following:

   • Abbreviations - spell them out

   • Relationship words - words like compare, contrast, causation, etc.

   • Judgement words - words like best, worst, pro, con, etc.

5. If needed, search Wikipedia and other reference sources to further develop your list of keywords.

6. Create a keyword map before you begin searching.

Select source types that are most appropriate for the information need.

For Example:

Science

Humanities