27 May 2014
Okay. This is not really a test. It's an opportunity to share your experience and the conclusions you have drawn from it. Here, we present several observations scholars across time have made about the value and reliability of oral history. Which of these best reflects your own findings—and why?
26 May 2014
Beginning researchers often anticipate a three-step process: 1. Gather information. 2. Organize it. 3. "Write it up." One critical step is missing from this progression. EE would add ...
25 May 2014
When a clever quote is attributed to a famous person, it's tempting to just grab the quote and run with it. That's why we see ...
Manuscript Registers with Suspiciously Long Date Spans
24 May 2014
Among the county level records of Cayuga County, New York (for example), we find a volume labeled "Homestead Exemptions, 1851-1966." One hundred and fifteen years is an inordinately long span of years for one record book at ...
EE
Sat, 05/24/2014 - 07:00
World War II—Rationing on the U.S. Homefront:
23 May 2014
"War ration books and tokens were issued to each American ... dictating how much gasoline, tires, sugar, meat, silk, shoes, nylon and other items any one person could buy. ... Even chicken wire fencing was rationed. ..." Have you ...
EE
Fri, 05/23/2014 - 07:00
Counteranalysis
22 May 2014
Some practitioners of the law have a concept that's equally useful to historical research and writing: counteranalysis. Putnam and Albright's guide to legal research defines counteranalysis this way: "It is the process of ...
EE
Thu, 05/22/2014 - 07:00
21 May 2014
Imply or infer? The differences in these two words have implications for the historical researcher as well as the grammarian. ...
TUESDAY'S TEST REVISITED: Tracking the Urban Poor
20 May 2014
Our Tuesday's Test for 6 May was a bit of a stumper: What records can we use to trace the urban poor? Given that EE is all about sources and evidence, not just citation formulas ...
EE
Tue, 05/20/2014 - 07:00
Evaluating Websites
19 May 2014
WWW-land is truly a wonderfully wacky world. We find gorgeous sites filled with garbage. We find tacky pages filled with Gospel Truth—or as close to it as any historical researcher can get. How do we ensure that our online efforts are healthy ones?
EE
Mon, 05/19/2014 - 08:59
18 May 2014
"When you catch an adjective," Mark Twain supposedly wrote to a twelve-year-old boy, "kill it. No. I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them—then the rest will be valuable." Constance ...
