Minnesota Historical Society MHS
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Researching a history topic is a process of ongoing discovery. You will not find all of the sources you need in one visit to the library. Your research will start with small amounts of information that will lead you to more and more sources. Learning how to look at these sources and find the most important information is a critical skill for a historian.

Take some time to explore the sources used to create the story of "Herb, Honeywell, and the Airplane Autopilot." Here are some things you will learn along the way.

1. Background research is vital to understanding new sources.

Before you do extensive research, take the time to read good secondary sources about your topic. Encyclopedias, magazine articles, or books will help you learn about the people who are important to your topic, create a timeline of key events, and find other sources.

2. Sources can be l-o-o-o-o-ng and contain a lot of information you don't need.

Good scholars learn how to identify the most useful information in a source. You don't need to read a 300-page book if the index shows you the chapter or page numbers related to your topic. Documents can also be skimmed to find useful sections.

3. It is important to have more than one point of view about a topic.

Different people understand the same event in different ways. What do you think British textbooks have to say about the American Revolution?

To help guide your exploration we have created the Great History Hunt. Each source will have a key question and it is your job to find the answer. You can either download the PDF form or go to this page. Print out the History Hunt Form before you begin so you can keep track of your notes.

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