Quality

Quality vs. Quantity

It never fails. When I publish an article or present a case study in an educational forum, curious souls ask the same question—over and again. How long did that research take? The answer often triggers a gasp—or dead silence—followed by ... The answer often triggers a gasp—or dead silence—followed by, “But if I spend that long on each problem, I’ll never get My Project done!” So? What is the goal of historical research? ...

Reasonably Exhaustive Research: Quantity or Quality?

12 March 2015 To reach a sound conclusion about any historical event of person, our first criteria is reasonably exhaustive research. However, this does not mean that quantity assures accuracy. Quantity and quality are entirely different critters and quantity can never trump quality. For the history researcher who has no living firsthand witnesses to interview ...
Citations: How Much Is Enough?
16 January 2015 History researchers frequently ask how much needs to be cited to support an assertion. If, say, we find an assertion in a journal article, a monograph on our topic, a generally reliable website, and a couple of original documents, do we have to cite them all? The answer is easy enough if ...
EE Fri, 01/16/2015 - 07:00