Introduction to Historical Method

"History' said Charles Seignobos "is not a science, it is a method". By that, he meant that the historical method may be applied to the subject matter of any discipline whatsoever as a means of ascertaining facts. The historical method is a scientific technique for selecting an area of study, gathering information related to the topic, collecting relevant data, analysing and critically evaluating the data and arriving at conclusions and generalizations or theories. The historical method is a tool of research and facilitates the framing of a hypothesis and testing the conclusions on the basis of the hypothesis.

Richerd F. Clarke defined the Historical Method as 'a system of procedures for the attainment of historical truth.' The discovery of truth and the procedure involved therein is generally called the historical method. It uses the research procedures commonly adopted by all Social Sciences and Philosophy in general. G.J. Renier wrote: 'Historical Method consists of the following stages - the selection of a topic, preparation of a bibliography, collection or research data relevant to the topic, criticism of the data, presentation of the data in a systematic manner and drawing of conclusions or generalizations. J. Garraghan viewed the historical method as a 'systematic body of principles and rules designed to assist in the effective gathering of source materials, appraising them critically and presenting a synopsis'. 

The historical method in modern times is said to scientifically consist of four parts: 

(1) Selection of a topic and preparation of a bibliography 

(2) Criticism of the data collected - external and internal

(3) Synthesis

(4) Exposition as generalized truth or theory 

It was the Greeks who first used the scientific modern methodology to some extent As R.G. Collingwood puts it: Greek historiography was rational, scientific and self-explanatory. Thucydides was the first scientific historiographer of Clio, the goddess of history.

In the modern age, it was Leopold Von Ranke who raised history to the level of science. It was he who gave history a definite methodology. He insisted on source criticism and reigned interpretation. Empirical data or corroborating evidence was o prime importance to him. Arthur Marwick, in his Nature of History, wrote that Ranke gave form and shape to a new and refined historical methodology by the use of critical techniques.

The scientific revolution and the positivists aided in making the historical method a scientific one for credibility, accuracy and objectivity. Theorization and conceptualization of history along with textual criticism reduced subjectivity to a great extent. Postmodern criticism and the linguistic turn of the historian's methodology have led to much introspection and rectification in exposition. With the changes in society and advancements in science, the historical method has been undergoing changes and incorporating statistical data and quantitative techniques for analysis. The historians, method continuously strives for perfection and accuracy in rebuilding the past.