Research Methods Applied to Educational Management

Dr. Rebecca Z. Moleta

Reporter: Jayson F. Hilario

WEEK 3: Historical Research

Title of Reports: Critical Analysis of Historical Data

Internal Criticism

Causative Interpretation of History

Synthesizing Historical Events

A. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL DATA

All data in historical research have to be subjected to a critical analysis to determine the
following:

 Authenticity or genuineness
 Truth of the statements
 CRITICAL - expressing adverse or disapproving comments or judgments.
 ANALYSIS - detailed examination of the elements or structure of something.
 HISTORICAL DATA - is a process of selecting the area or topic to write the history about,
collecting the data about events that occurred in the area or about a topic, collating the data,
sifting the authentic from non-authentic, and then making interpretative narrative about or
critical inquiry into the whole truth of the events.

So, it uses two kinds of criticism employed in analyzing historical documents:

1. EXTERNAL CRITICISM - which is also known as lower criticism, is a tool used by
historians and exegetes to determine the validity of a document, particularly a document
with some sort of historical significance. It is mainly used to determine the authenticity or
genuineness of a historical document. It ventures towards inquiry regarding (a) authorship,
(b) time, (c) place, (d) purpose, (e) circumstances or composition) and (f) what part of the
document is true to the original.

The use of auxiliary sciences helps in determining the authenticity and genuineness of a
document among the following:

Epigraphy - is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of

identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and
cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the writing and the writers. 
Diplomatics - the science of deciphering old official documents, as charters, and of
determining their authenticity, age, or the like; the study of documents.

Paleography - the study of ancient writing systems and the deciphering and dating of
historical manuscripts.

Philology - the branch of knowledge that deals with the structure, historical development, and
relationships of a language or languages.

 Archaeology (the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and
the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains), Anthropology (the study of human
biological and physiological characteristics and their evolution), and Prehistory
(human history in the period before recorded events, known mainly through archaeological
discoveries, study, research, etc.; history of prehistoric humans) – the science of remains.
 Chemistry - is the branch of science that deals with the properties, composition, and structure
of elements and compounds, how they can change, and the energy that is released or
absorbed when they change.

PURPOSES OF EXTERNAL CRITICISM (Good and Scates)

 Forgeries and hoaxes - the crime of falsely making or altering a writing by which the
legal rights or obligations of another person are apparently affected; simulated signing
of another person's name to any such writing whether or not it is also the forger's name;
to trick into believing or accepting as genuine something false and often
preposterous.
 Authorship, time, and filiation of documents – this problem of determining
authorship and time of a document usually occurs with persons who employ ghost
writers.
 Incorrect borrowings – it occurs when one copies an original work without
acknowledging the originator of the work and passes that as his own; when there are
errors in copying the text of the original material; and when one borrowing
misinterprets the ideas being portrayed by the original material.
 Inventions and distortions – these are made when a historian invents speeches or
orations which are supposed to have been delivered by great men of history just to
project his own philosophy or ideas; anecdotes are created to enhance the prestige of
an adored hero; and the original works of great men are edited and corrected for poor
grammar since the corrected copy may no longer contain the original idea.

B. INTERNAL CRITICISM – is the process of determining the true meaning and value of
statements contained in a document. It is positive if the efforts are made to discover the true
meaning of the contents of a document and negative if efforts are exerted in finding reasons
for disbelieving the contents of the document. Therefore, it aims to establish the credibility of
the content of the document.
In addition, internal criticism or higher criticism is the technique of testing the reliability
of the information found in a document. It is concerned with the authenticity of the
information and its purpose is to establish the trustworthiness of the contents of the
document. Internal criticism is used to detect and determine whether the document
contains errors or lies. It is the fundamental and significant task in which the historical
narratives are reconstructed. 

C. CAUSATIVE INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY

Why is there history? What causes a historical event to happen? These questions have
haunted man ever since the advent of civilization. In various times and in different places,
man has attempted to answer these philosophical questions.

GENERAL PHILOSOPHIES OF HISTORY

• According to the Greeks and the Romans, historical events are determined by fate and
destiny; hence, we cannot do something about it.

• The Christian View of History. There is a divine concern for the welfare of mankind. All
histories will lead to the universality of a true religion.

• Voltaire. Does not believe in the existence of a divine creature. Instead, he believes that
history is the results of chance and fortuity.

• Hegel. Formulated the materialistic conception of history. Hegel’s doctrine was that every
epoch in history was inspired and dominated by some specific idea.

• The Darwinian theory of evolution as applied to history, means that in a social institution, as
well as in animal kingdom, the rule of the survival of the fittest applies and that acquired
characteristics of society are passed on to succeeding generations.

• The Marxian philosophy applied to history is that the mode of production in economic life
primarily determines the general character of the social, political and cultural processes of life,
which shifts as the economic foundation changes.

• Since the World War of 1914-1918, a rhythm philosophy explains history as a series of
pulsations, the swing and counter-swing of the pendulum, a series of summer-fall-winter-spring
seasons, with the present period representing a very bleak season in civilization and world
affairs.

SPECIFIC SCHOOLS OF HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION (Barnes)

 The personal, biographical, or “great man” theory is the best known and has been emphasized
most by the conventional historians.

 The spiritual or idealistic interpretation of history is found in the discovery of spiritual forces.
 The scientific and technological theory views human progress as directly correlated with the
advances in natural science and technology.

 The economic school of historical interpretation contends that the prevailing type of economic
institutions and processes in society will.

 The geographical theory holds that the actions of man cannot be fully understood or
adequately described when divorced from their physical setting.

 Sociological interpretation of history draws from sociology (the study of the development,
structure, and functioning of human society or the study of social problems.)

 The relatively recent synthetic, eclectic, pluralistic, or collective psychological theory is the
most inclusive and most important type of historical interpretation.

D. SYNTHESIZING HISTORICAL EVENTS

In writing a history, there are certain problems or processes involved which are the following:

 Identification and definition of the problem – it is wise for researcher to choose a problem
which his professional competence may enable him to tackle. The researchers should be able
to determine a kind of problem which he can solve.

 Formulation of hypotheses – the formulation of hypothesis will serve as guide for the
researcher’s investigation. It should state exactly what historical data have to be found. The
specific questions raised at the beginning of the inquiry serve as the hypotheses.

 Inductive-deductive reasoning – inductive reasoning is a method of drawing conclusions by

going from the specific to the general. It’s usually contrasted with deductive reasoning, where
you go from general information to specific conclusions. It is also called inductive logic or
bottom-up reasoning. While deductive reasoning is a logical approach where you progress
from general ideas to specific conclusions. It’s often contrasted with inductive reasoning,
where you start with specific observations and form general conclusions. It is also called
deductive logic or top-down reasoning.

 Historical perspective – it has two ways: evaluate a historical event or practice in terms of
contemporaneous events, conditions, practices, and traditions existing at the time the event
occurred and in the same environment; and judge the event in terms of present-day events,
conditions, practices, and traditions and in terms of those existing in other places which are
better known.

 Central theme or principle of synthesis - synthesis means to combine a number of

Synthesis different pieces into a whole. Synthesis is about concisely summarizing and linking
different sources in order to review the literature on a topic, make recommendations, and
connect your practice to the research. Synthesis usually goes together with analysis because
you break down a concept/idea into its important parts/points (analysis), so you can draw
useful conclusions or make decisions about the topic or problem (synthesis). Since is writing
the history, there must be a central theme around which the history is woven.

References:
Methods of Research and Thesis Writing by Jose F. Calderon, Ed.D. & Expectacion C.
Gonzales
http://mozambicanscholar.blogspot.com/2010/11/external-criticism-brief-
reflection.html#:~:text=External%20criticism%2C%20which%20is%20also,is%20followed
%20by%20internal%20criticism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigraphy

https://www.britannica.com/topic/diplomatics

https://www.britannica.com/science/chemistry

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/forgery

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoax

http://historiographyandmethod.blogspot.com/2020/05/internal-criticism.html

https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/deductive-reasoning/

https://umanitoba.ca/faculties/nursing/students/What_is_synthesis.pdf

https://ernielex.files.wordpress.com