Historical Research

Here are some resources to help get you started.

Check out our *new* 

Vermont History Day Student Research Guide

It's designed to help you move smoothly through the historical research process.

Are you looking for a helpful teacher guide with hints, tips, and activities to encourage student inquiry and historical research? 

The Guide to Student Research and Historical Argument provides an overview of the inquiry process, explores primary and secondary sources from the Library of Congress, and helps teachers guide students to construct historical arguments. The book targets important historical thinking skills that often challenge students. 

The Guide to Student Research and Historical Argumentation was developed by National History Day through a Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) grant from the Library of Congress.

NHD and the Library of Congress training videos:

Why is "wide research" important?

NEH Experts explain the importance of wide research in NHD projects in this video.

Looking for a graphic organizer with guiding questions to help students collect their notes?

Rights and Responsibilities in History, research graphic organizer (2 pages, unlined)

Rights and Responsibilities in History, research graphic organizer (4 pages, lined)

Library of Congress

Online Primary Source Collections

Types of Sources

Library of Congress Search Strategies

Other Online Primary Source Collections

The following collections of primary sources listed below may be helpful.