Historical Method: 
               5 step process historians use to write history
                1.  Preliminary Research- The first step of the 
                Historical Method is to
                 decide which issue to study and conduct research for evidence to 
                provide information about what happened.
                   Questions to ask during this step:
                   1.  Where would I go to research this?
                   2.  5 W’s (who, what where, why, when)
                 Historical Method: 
           5 step process historians use to write history
            2. Formulating a working hypothesis
              -Based on the preliminary research a tentative hypothesis 
              is created on what one may believe happened. 
              Ex. This is a map of Washington’s encampment at Valley 
              Forge
                              Historical Method: 
                    5 step process historians use to write history
            3. Research for evidence to support 
        or reject      the working hypothesis.
                    -Continue to study primary documents.  While examining 
                    these sources the historian must ask questions about the 
                    event and the evidence
                    Is it primary/secondary
                    Chronological order to examine cause/effect
                        Is it authentic?
        Found in        Is it reliable?
        Reading 4       Is it objective/subjective
                        Does it Corroborate?
                        Does it support/refute?
                                                       Historical Method: 
                                    5 step process historians use to write history
                                             Primar                                                              Seconda
                                             y                                                                   ry
                                 • ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS                                                      •   Textbooks
                                 • Diaries                                                                 •           magazine articles
                                 • speeches                                                                •           Histories
                                 • manuscripts                                                             •           Commentaries
                                 • letters                                                                 •           encyclopedias
                                 • Interviews                                                              •           Internet 
                                 • Poetry, music, art
                                 • Clothing, pottery
                                                              -
               Historical Method: 
          5 step process historians use to write history
         4. Formulate a thesis statement
             -Once the evidence has been carefully examined then the 
             hypothesis can now become a thesis statement. 
             This map was created by a French Engineer, docketed by 
             Louis DuPortail, and used early on at Valley Forge as a 
             working fortification map.