Historical Research in the Twenty-First Century

Digital technology, interdisciplinarity, and a more inclusive set of perspectives and sources are altering the craft of history. Benjamin Wiggins places these emergent concerns in conversation with the field's traditions to guide readers through historians' fundamental practices and latest innovations. Framing history within the 'research lifecycle' model, he critically analyses how each stage in historical research is empowered (and sometimes imperilled) by technological, methodological, and social changes. The volume presents guidance for and examples of historians developing research questions, designing projects, contextualising their research, gathering primary sources, analysing that evidence, presenting their work, and sharing and preserving their research products. To illustrate the essential practices of each stage of the research lifecycle, Wiggins draws on twenty-seven case studies that span diverse regions and historical periods. In so doing, the book contributes novel methodological combinations that bring together the sciences and humanities in ways that hold promise for the future of researching the past. Through its holistic approach, the book stands apart from volumes that more narrowly consider the influence of technology alone. By centring techniques rather than technologies, it presents historical research practices that have worked well in this century's first decades to guide readers on how to produce new knowledge about the past in its remainder.