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Online
archival research
In
the electronic era, an increasing number of archives
are putting information online. The following section
contains basic guidance about how to approach Internet
research.
Pre-research
online
Many archives now have their own websites where you
can obtain basic information about their services. Some
will even take email requests for information about
their collections, and others may even undertake a basic
search on your behalf, although there may be a charge
attached.
Electronic
catalogues
Increasingly, archives are placing their catalogues
online. This is an incredibly useful innovation, as
you can access information about a collection without
the need to travel to the archive, thus saving precious
research time. However, remember that there will be
supplementary sources that you will only be able to
consult onsite, such as contemporary lists or indexes.
Online
catalogue searches
The onset of online catalogues has enabled online catalogue
searches. These are another useful innovation, as you
can normally search the catalogue by keyword restricted
to a range of dates. The search engine will then provide
a list of matches with relevant document references.
However
you should treat your results with caution. Most online
catalogue searches only examine the document descriptions
that have been keyed into the database, rather than
the contents of the documents themselves; and there
could be many more documents that are even more important
but are not shown because their descriptions do not
contain your chosen keyword.
Similarly,
when searching try to think how your topic would have
been described in contemporary terms, as the modern
description may not have been applicable in the past.
Where possible, keep your search terms as short and
simple as possible, so that you get the greatest number
of matches.
Articles
and publications
Try not to rely too heavily on websites constructed
by enthusiastic amateurs - there are some very well
meaning but hopelessly inaccurate websites in cyberspace.
Try to corroborate facts with textbooks, or better still,
stick to the websites of official institutions, where
internal regulation and quality checking is more likely.
The
dangers of Internet laziness
Over-reliance on virtual research can make one lazy.
Not only is there the temptation to assume a fruitless
online search means that there can't be any information
at that archive, but also basic research skills can
be eroded. One of the key aims of archival research
is to develop the ability to understand documents and
make links between sources, and this can only be achieved
through the process of selecting, viewing and analysing
material 'in the flesh'. The Internet should be seen
as a research tool, not a research substitute.
Digital
images and online document tutorials
It is very rare to find large collections of material
online, but where they are, use them. Even if the material
shown is not of immediate use, the type of document
shown might be, and can provide a template from which
to work when confronted by the original.
Online
document training packs will be developed as part of
the ARTS
scheme on this website in the future, but in the meantime
your tutor can book an onsite training session via the
tutor home page that provides
more detailed advice.
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