Historical Method In Social Science

materials, evaluating them critically, organizing them into an organic whole and explaining the significance and relevance of the organized data in a narrative format.

There are distinctions between the method and methodology as method is common to all sciences, independent, underived and definite, whereas methodology is not as it is a view or perspective to look through. Historical method is useful for theoretical and practical purpose as it provide useful and important information towards the solutions of the problem that makes possible to study the development of a particular idea, concept, philosophy or theory.

1.2.2. Methods of Inquiry

The historical research has been heavily influenced by the social science research methods of

Historical Sources

The historical sources are divided into two: remains (tangible remnants) and records (consciously produced records), and the historian values the remains since they give actuality of the past. These two further are classified into four categories: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Archeological. The first two are considered authentic and near to the fact, the third one is far from facts and the fourth one need proper skills to use.

According to Canton Norman the “‘Primary sources are the basic material that provide the raw data and information for the historian ; and which is a work that was written at a time that is contemporary or nearly contemporary with the period or subject being studied’. The secondary sources are ‘the works that contain the explications of and judgments on, this primary material which discusses the subject but is written after the time contemporary with

History is nothing but the literary work of writer who presents the past to the present reader for adventure. For example, Homer selected the Trojan War as a theme in his epics Iliad and Oddessy, Shakespeare selected historical themes to produce his famous dramas, and Voltaire and Rousseau created history by writing literature with historical themes. Historians like Herodotus, Thucidides, and Gibbon have presented their history in literary form, in a romantic style of novelty. George Macaulay Trevelyan argued that history is nothing but a collection of facts, the events happened. Against this, Theodore Roosevelt sharply attacked on Trevelyan for damaging the historiography for superficial approach to history. Though there is a close relationship between history and literature, history is based on facts, time, place and it has specific setting whereas literature can be highly imaginative without