"Scientific history" redirects here. For the study of the development of science, see History of science.
A sculpted bust depicting Thucydides (c. 460-c. 400 BC) dubbed the "father of scientific history" (a copy of a copy of 4th Century BCE Greek work)
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Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be drawn on, and the historian's skill lies in identifying these sources, evaluating their relative authority, and combining their testimony appropriately in order to construct an accurate and reliable picture of past events and environments.
In the philosophy of history, the question of the nature, and the possibility, of a sound historical method is raised within the sub-field of epistemology. The study of historical method and of different ways of writing history is known as historiography.
Though historians agree in very general and basic principles, in practice "specific canons of historical proof are neither widely observed nor generally agreed upon" among professional historians.[1] Some scholars of history have observed that there are no particular standards for historical fields such as religion, art, science, democracy, and social justice as these are by their nature 'essentially contested' fields, such that they require diverse tools particular to each field beforehand in order to interpret topics from those fields.[2]
^Fischer, David Hackett (1970). Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought. New York: Harper Perennial. p. 62. ISBN 9780061315459. Historians are likely to agree in principle, but not in practice. Specific canons of historical proof are neither widely observed nor generally agreed upon.
^McCullagh, C. Behan (2000). "Bias in Historical Description, Interpretation, and Explanation". History and Theory. 39 (1): 47. doi:10.1111/0018-2656.00112. ISSN 0018-2656. JSTOR 2677997. W. B. Gallie argued that some concepts in history are "essentially contested," namely "religion," "art," "science," "democracy," and "social justice." These are concepts for which "there is no one use of any of them which can be set up as its generally accepted and therefore correct or standard use. When historians write the history of these subjects, they must choose an interpretation of the subject to guide them. For instance, in deciding what Art is, historians can choose between "configurationist theories, theories of aesthetic contemplation and response .. ., theories of art as expression, theories emphasizing traditional artistic aims and standards, and communication theories.
Historicalmethod is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary...
communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historicalmethod. For broader world history, recorded history begins with the accounts...
various methods. The scholarly method includes the subcategories of the scientific method, with which scientists bolster their claims, and the historical method...
The term "historical Jesus" refers to the life and teachings of Jesus as interpreted through critical historicalmethods, in contrast to what are traditionally...
Historical criticism (also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism) is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient...
acceptance of historical data". He introduced a scientific method to the study of history, and referred to it as his "new science". His method laid the groundwork...
the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension, the term historiography is any body of historical work...
evolution of humankind and society throughout history using a method that is essentially historical, empirical, rational, and demonstrative. The Muqaddimah...
textual criticism), style criticism, historiography (the choice of historicalmethod), musical analysis, and iconography. The application of musical analysis...
Valsiner, J. (January 2006) Qualitative Developmental Research Methods in Their Historical and Epistemological Contexts. FQS. Vol 7, No. 1, Art. 8 Moschandreas...
are distinguished from earlier approaches because they rely on the historicalmethod to study biblical narratives. While textual analysis of biblical sources...
what is happening on contemporary streets, to investigating historical documents. Methods rooted in classical sociology and statistics have formed the...
communities form confederations Communalism (historiography) [de], a historicalmethod that follows the development of communities Communalism (South Asia)...
and academic research, interviews are used in a wide variety of ways as a method to do extensive personality tests. Interviews are the most used form of...
Cold Steel: A Practical Treatise on the Sabre, which presented the historicalmethod of military sabre use on foot, combining the 18th century English...
Comparative historical research is a method of social science that examines historical events in order to create explanations that are valid beyond a particular...
habitat. A wide range of groups and organisations have been studied by this method, including traditional communities, youth gangs, religious cults, and organisations...
question. A meta-analysis is typically a systematic review using statistical methods to effectively combine the data used on all selected studies to produce...
Historical sociology is an interdisciplinary field of research that combines sociological and historicalmethods to understand the past, how societies...
vulnerable to criticism. Philosophy portal Scholarly method Scientific methodHistoricalmethod Dialectic "methodology". The American Heritage Dictionary...
methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method...
ethnocentrism, and societal trends rather than on scientific analysis or historicalmethod.: 18 Research on ancient skeletons in Palestine suggests that Judeans...
rate of browning and helps to produce more desirable raisins. The historicalmethod of completing this process was developed in the Mediterranean and...
language. Ordinarily, both methods are used together to reconstruct prehistoric phases of languages; to fill in gaps in the historical record of a language;...
outside the reach of the historicalmethods. The Christ myth theory, which developed within the scholarly research on the historical Jesus in the 19th century...
consists of linguistic analysis, comparative-historicalmethod, geographical method, and statistical method. Anthroponymy of individual and family names...
Historicity of Muhammad Historicity of the Book of Mormon Historicism Historicalmethod Historicity of King Arthur Historicity of William Tell Historicity...
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