Book contents
- Front matter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Glossary
- Introduction
- 1 Approaches to the material world
- 2 Planning a research project
- 3 Developing a methodology
- 4 Locating sources: understanding museum collections and other repositories
- 5 Analysing sources
- 6 Writing up findings
- Afterword
- Select bibliography and resources
- Index
3 - Developing a methodology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2026
Book contents
- Front matter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Glossary
- Introduction
- 1 Approaches to the material world
- 2 Planning a research project
- 3 Developing a methodology
- 4 Locating sources: understanding museum collections and other repositories
- 5 Analysing sources
- 6 Writing up findings
- Afterword
- Select bibliography and resources
- Index
Summary
This chapter focuses on the over-arching methodology of a research project, which guides the work that is conducted in a museum, library or archive. Using examples of contemporary historical scholarship, the choices researchers make about their primary sources, methods of analysis and theoretical frameworks are unpacked case by case. This chapter also deals with the difficulties of working on material culture that no longer survives, a challenge common to historical studies.
Information
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- Chapter
- Information
- History through material culture , pp. 70 - 94Publisher: Manchester University PressFirst published in: 2026
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