There are fantastic resources available online that will help with doing your research: how to do research, how to use genealogical software, how to collect and organise your references. Some of them are listed below to get you started. Writing There are lots of free resources available on how to produce good academic-level writing.
Research
Open source bibliographic reference management
Recently I’ve been looking around the internet for bibliographic database software (for Windows). Years ago I used a great program called Papyrus which was fantastic (and now free if you want it) and which I can still get to work in a DOS/ Command window. But this really isn’t terribly practical anymore. Yes, there are […]
Funding for Independent Scholars
Although there are a lot of funding possiblities available, many of these are available only to academic students and staff/ scholars. This post shows some funding scholarships, fellowships, prizes, etc that do not exclude independent scholars. Some of these opportunities are repeated so check them out even if it looks out of date here. Centre Culturel […]
Burial register 1868-1896 for St Finbarr’s Cemetery, Cork City, now online
Well done to the Cork City & County Archives for creating a new search aid that will be incredibly useful for relatives, historians and genealogists. This is a 118 page “Register of Interments St. Finbarr’s Cemetery, Glasheen Road, Cork 25 Feb 1868-14 Jun 1896” available online at http://corkarchives.ie/media/CP-CY-FI-1-web(Surname-Order).pdf . The register is sorted alphabetically by […]
Preparation for doing a PhD
I’ve been looking around the internet for tips about ‘doing’ a PhD and quickly realised that this topic can be broken down into: choosing a topic choosing a supervisor think about funding doing the research keeping track of everything writing the thesis probably something I’m missing here … the viva voce/ interview/ oral examination The […]
Using YouTube to help with genealogical research
YouTube is a great place to find videos that can teach you how to do practically anything, particularly if you prefer visual learning. To get the best value from this, learn more about how to use YouTube by going to YouTube Help. There are literally millions of videos online so how to keep track of the […]
Filling the gap
All experienced researchers have a list of resources that they go to first when starting a new project. When the information dries up because the primary sources are missing (e.g. a fire that destroyed a set of documents), then a researcher must become creative in carving out a ‘new road’. In Ireland there are many […]
What is History?
History is the study of the past. In order to uncover facts about the past sources must be studied. Historians distinguish between primary and secondary sources. Primary includes original material created at the time of events (‘contemporaneous’) such as legal deeds, administrative documents (including civil registration of births, marriages and deaths), diaries and journals, letters, […]
Funding
As an independent researcher or scholar it can be difficult to access to funding as it is often restricted to students or staff of educational institutions. However, the more you advertise (i.e. publish, lecture), the more you’ll have an increasingly impressive resumé or CV that will be attractive to funding bodies. Every lecture or publication […]
Keeping going as an independent scholar
It’s hard. You’re slogging away on your pet topic – you love the research – but not the lack of attention! What is the best way to keep yourself positive and enjoy the research? First, remember why you started doing this – the love and interest in your subject. Secondly, I hope you’ve published something […]
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