QuickSheet: The Historical Biographer's Guide to the Research Process by Elizabeth Shown Mills

Building on a lifetime of experience, Elizabeth Mills argues that successful research can be achieved by following four specific models: The Research Process Model The Research Analysis Model The Identity Triangulation Model The Reliability Model The first of these, the research process model, involves several indispensable steps: analyze the problem, place it in legal and social context, identify related and associated individuals, identify relevant resources, identify pros and cons in their use, and, finally, develop a research plan. The second model--the research analysis model--contains this simple bedrock principle: Sources provide information from which we select evidence for analysis. A sound conclusion may then be treated as "proof" until and unless new evidence emerges to the contrary. The third item in the research process is the triangulation model, which states: Identity is more than a name. It is every known detail of a human life. Identity is determined by triangulatin