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Archival Research

Archival Research

Archival research methods utilise unique primary source documents from archives and special collections.

Such sources can include a broad range of materials including manuscripts, unpublished letters, photographs, maps, rare books, illustrations and digital texts. Archival sources are often held in repositories and are increasingly being made available online through digitisation techniques, an issue which has seen increased prevalence in the light of COVID.

Traditionally, archival research methods are applied in a range of fields that involve the study of historical documents such as English Literature, History and Classics, however they are increasingly used by scholars engaged in non-historical investigations on contemporary issues. Archival methods are informed by a number of research philosophies including modernist, postmodernist and feminist approaches, and there is an increasing body of literature around the ethics of archival research.

The Humanities Research Institute and the Institute for Creative Arts Practice host a range of experts in archival research design and methodologies and you can find more information in ‘People’ below.

Newcastle University has an extensive collection of archival material available to access by staff and students. You can find a guide to the Philip Robinson Library’s special collections and archives here.

Spotlight Interview

Professor Annie Tindley, Professor of British and Irish Rural History

People

Courses

HSS8004 : Qualitative Methodology in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Museum Studies MA, PGDip

NBS8554 : Research Designs in Management and Business Studies

SEL2218 : Research Project in English Literature & History

SEL3411 : From Creation to Publication: Children's Literature in the Archive (Inactive)

SEL8674 : Research Methods (Literature)

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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