Inquiry+Method

media type="file" key="Text to Speech.mp3" width="240" height="20" History Skill: Using the Inquiry Method

 When you study history you find answers to questions about the past. As you look for information to answer these questions, you are doing an "inquiry." An inquiry has three main parts: research (Steps 1, 2, and 3), interpretation (Step 4), and communication (Step 5).

 Step 1

 Write out a question to identify what you want to find out. Here are four different types of questions historians ask:

 - factual: What were the facts?  Example: What are some examples of Canada's role as peacekeepers?

 - causal: What were the causes?  Example: What were the causes of World War II?

 - comparative: How does it compare?  Example: How does American influence on Canada today compare with its influence in 1914?

 - speculative: What might happen or have happened?  Example: What do Canada's actions in the past suggest about it's response to human tragedies in the future?

 More questions may come up as you are researching, but always keep your overall question in mind.

 Step 2

 To look for answers to your questions, start with the easiest and most general resources, and work toward the more detailed or specialized ones. Here are some tips:

 - For quick, general information, try an encyclopedia or almanac (in print or online).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - For general information, use historical sources such as The Dictionary of Canadian Biography or The Oxford Companion to Canadian History.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - For more detailed information, check history textbooks.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - When you know the basic details about your topic, use the Internet.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Other sources include:

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - magazines and newspapers

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - vertical files (information collected and filed by library staff)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - media such as recordings, CDs, films, slides, and videos

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - brochures/booklets (from museums, historic sites, government offices, historical societies)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - people (for interviews and first-person accounts)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Step 3

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Record and organize your information. Use notes and graphic organizers such as charts, timelines, webs, and maps. Be sure to document your sources.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Step 4

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Interpret and evaluate your information. Interpreting means deciding whether it is useful and accurate, making connections between different ideas, and drawing conclusions based on what you have found out.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Step 5

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Communicate your findings to others. For example, you can give an oral or written report, prepare a display, write a news article, or create a visual.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> To use the historical inquiry method... <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - decide on your question <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - consult a variety of sources <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - record and organize the information <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - interpret the information and draw conclusions <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> - communicate your findings

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Practise It!

<span style="background-color: #8ed4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 1. What was the most important cause of World War I? Start by reading the World War 1 Causes page to find some basic information. Take notes on what you learned.

<span style="background-color: #8ed4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 2. Now consult one other source - an encyclopedia or almanac, a history book, or an Internet site - and add at least three facts or pieces of information to your notes. Highlight these additional facts somehow with different font or some type of mark.

<span style="background-color: #8ed4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 3. Compare your notes with those of a partner. Add his or her information to your notes and highlight them.

<span style="background-color: #8ed4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 4. Go through your notes and cross out any pieces of information that do not relate directly to the question.