Image Credit: Casimiro N. De Moya, Mapa de la isla de Santo Domingo y Haiti (London: Rand McNally, 1906) https://www.loc.gov/item/2009579477/.
Historians rely on documentary evidence from archival collections to help answer research questions. However, for researchers interested in using archival sources, conducting archival research might be challenging, multi-layered, or abstruse. Part of my work as a scholar is to help clarify the process and provide some advice about to how to navigate the archives.
Although every archive is different, I have found a few things have helped make my trips successful:
Do research on the archive. Going to the archive’s website and/or talking with people who have traveled to the archive before, can help you learn about the archive’s policies and plan for your trip beforehand. Be sure to look at the hours, holiday schedules, computer and photo policies and whether there is a dress code.
Contact archivists. Reach out to archivists to introduce yourself and your research interests, and to inform them of your upcoming trip. Sometimes archivists will tell you about collections that might be of interest and you can start with them as soon as you arrive.
Make a research plan. Think through your research questions and what types of documents you are looking for. If you have access to an archival guide, use this to plan what collections, boxes, and folders you would like to examine during your trip.
Create a system for organizing the materials you collect. Whether you develop a table or spreadsheet to track the documents you have examined and photos you have taken, or use Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, or Word to transcribe your notes, make sure you develop a system that works for you.
Take notes on your reflections. After a long day at the archive, the last thing you might want to do is to spend more time on the computer. However, writing down major actors, patterns that emerge, or things that caught your attention when your ideas are still fresh will be valuable when you return. You might also consider writing a short report once your trip is complete to help synthesize your findings.
Send thank you notes. We rely on archivists to assist us as we conduct our research. A little gratitude goes a long way.