Defining your Research Topic
All research projects begin with the selection of a subject. In the beginning, you may not know exactly what your final project will be but you should have a broad sense of the topic you would like to research and what aspects you would like to learn more about. Being able to answer the following questions is a good starting point:
- What interests me?
- What do I already know?
- What aspects are important to learn more about?
- What are my goals for this research?
Conducting Background Research
It is important to conduct background research before you begin your archival research as a way to become familiar with your topic, understand the research that has already been done, and identify secondary materials that might fill in details such as key dates and individuals related to your research interests. Being familiar with the scope of your topic before consulting archival material will not only provide you with essential contextual information to help make sense of the documents you will encounter, but it will also allow the archives staff to narrow down your request to relevant resources.
Helpful Tips
- Review the footnotes or bibliographies of books and articles for useful resources.
- Narrow down your research focus…to a point. If too broad, you might find yourself overwhelmed with the amount of material to review. If too rigid, you may have difficulty finding related material.
- Check for resources in multiple archival repositories, many of the materials held by the Archives are published and held in local libraries, seminaries, diocesan offices, and historical societies.
- Remember that most resources, including publications, articles, and archival materials are not digitized and therefore are not available online.
Consulting Archival Material
After completing the necessary background research, it is time to dive deeper into primary resources, such as personal correspondence and manuscripts, and institutional records, such as meeting minutes and reports. Remember that visiting an archive is not the same as going to the library. You will not be able to browse the shelves, page through boxes of material, or access materials that are not directly related to your research topic.
It is important to work with the archivists to identify potentially useful materials before your visit to ensure that the materials you desire are accessible and will be germane to your research.
Helpful Tips
- Archival research is time consuming. It can be complex and often requires a lot of patience. Large topics often require multiple visits to the archive.
- When consulting an archive, particularly if you cannot visit in person, it is better to ask specific questions. For example: “I’m looking for information regarding how Episcopal missions in Haiti were financed between 1865-1880,” is more manageable than “I would like all of the information regarding Episcopal missionary work in the Caribbean.”
- It is important to take very detailed notes about where you located information, including the collection name, the box number, and the folder number. It can be very frustrating to have useful information and not remember where you found it.
- Remember that every archive has its own rules. Familiarizing yourself with the access policy and reading room rules is essential to your success.
- If you have any questions, always ask the staff before conducting research.
Initiating a Request
The Archives of the Episcopal Church is a private archives repository that welcomes public research inquiries about the history and organizational life of The Episcopal Church, its governing bodies, affiliated organizations, and prominent members. As the official repository of Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society and the General Convention, the Archives’ primary responsibility is to serve the governing bodies and leadership of The Episcopal Church who are engaged in the mission work of the church.
Public research inquiries may be submitted through the online Contact Form and will be processed in the order in which they are received. Requests receive thirty minutes of complimentary research. If a request requires more than the allocated time, archives staff will follow up with a summary of the research findings and an estimate of additional time and fees to complete the request. No further research will be conducted until time and fees have been agreed to in writing.
Researchers will be required to complete a Research Application prior to initiating a research request that requires an extensive review of records, scheduling an onsite research visit, or receiving scanned documents.