Debates in Australian History - Essay Example

Debates in Australian History 2905HUM Archival documents and oral history are sources of historical data. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages linked to this historiographical method? Name University Module Instructor Submission Date © 2012 INTRODUCTION Historians have an array of methods at their disposal with which to study and analyse history in a systematic way. This systematic study and analysis of history is referred to as historiography. According to studies by Attwood (1996, p44), history can be studied from ideological perspectives such as Marxist historiography or even from religious ideologies which place a lot of emphasis on people’s freedom to act. In their efforts of exploring past events, historians have discovered a number of methods that can be employed to collect historical data. According to Bearman (1989, p28) and Ritchie (1994, p62), archival documents and oral history comprises the commonest sources of historical data. As observed by Bearman (1989, p33), archival documents include those publicly available records and artifacts that bring a connection between the past and the present. In the informed position of Macintyre & Clark (2003, p54), archival documents present a myriad of reasons that indicate such data were first collected before being archived. As opposed to archival documents, oral history is based on eyewitness accounts of events and situations experienced by the informants (Barbara & Montell, 1991 p102). It thus involves the collection and recording of personal memoirs based on past experiences. Using this historiographical method has been associated with a number of advantages and disadvantages, whose identity forms the basis of this discourse. ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS As mentioned elsewhere in this discourse, archival data come in many forms and are easily accessible by members of the public from a number of storage devices. The said devices hold the data either in the form of hard copies like print media for example, or soft copies such as removable disks. In these formats, archival documents present a multiplicity of reasons to believe that these data were first collected before being archived. Observations made by Frost (2011, p63) demonstrate that the data in archival documents are typically the most easily used particularly with the modern-day computer enabled programmes and encoding formats. Thus with the application of today’s ICT tools and statistical analysis software, interpretation and manipulation of archived data has never been so easy. But despite these advances in technology, the use of archival documents as a source of historical data has encountered major advantages and disadvantages, some of which are highlighted hereunder. Advantages For starters, archival documents simply present data that are already collected. This consequently represents a substantial savings of time, effort and money as noted by Marwick (2001, p15). Additionally, Munslow (2010, p41) contends that there is no need for institutional review when using archival documents as a source of historical data because almost all the data are already collected. This is supported by the fact that “the participants generally gave permission for their data to be used in research when the archive was created” (Munslow, 2010 p42). This provision is particularly significant in cases where the participants have already passed on, leaving archival documents as the only best available alternative source of historical data. Moreover, archival documents remain the only easily accessible source of historical data since they are present in the public domain. In addition to the foregoing pragmatic advantages, Karskens (2009, p57) further observes that archival sources of historical data have some empirical advantages as well. Firstly, the archival documents allow the investigation of questions that would be difficult or impossible to study in any other way. This is found resident in the fact that conducting comparative studies of how people or societies have changed over periods of historical time has been made possible by use of archival documents (Blair, 2004 p37). Curthoys (2006, p19) and Tosh (2008, p56) have further insisted that the availability of archival data has been fundamental in making studies involving life span development a success. The best example to this effect is underlined by the findings of the Nun Study of 1988 conducted by Peterson, Vaillant and Seligman (quoted in Richard, 2000 p104). The results of the said study are currently in use to forewarn patients of possible early development of Alzheimer disease by using samples written by Nuns in their teenage and early adult years. Similarly, Tosh (2008, p57) indicates that “the study of the developmental trajectory of self-development in men by Hart would not have been possible without the archived materials in the Murray Center”. This would have otherwise meant that Hart had to wait 25 years, the time span covered in archiving the material in order to complete his investigation (Tosh, 2008 p57). Disadvantages The most outstanding disadvantage of archival documents as sources of historical data resides in the fact that the information may not be in a format that is easy to use in answering the present research question. In the study by Peterson and partners (quoted by Richard, 2000 p104) for example, the archival data were essay samples written by Nun students in their novelty ages of 25 years and below. Although Peterson and colleagues were interested in the role of explanatory style on health, it was not possible for them to directly measure this in the essays. To overcome this shortcoming, Peterson and associates had to develop a coding scheme with which to assign explanatory style to the statements in the essays as pointed out by Richard (2000, p104). Every essay was then read and coded for easier interpretation, hence making the effort more laborious and time-consuming. In addition to this, the archived data may not include information about the variables of interest. Take for instance the Census Bureau of United States which has for a long time archived data on certain kinds of demographic information about her residents (Blair, 2004 p24). Data on ethnicity, family size, income level and home ownership have been collected for an enormous sample of respondents, but none of these variables provide any information about explanatory style. Thus while the Census Bureau archives remain extensive, well documented, carefully coded and readily accessible, Blair (2004, p28) explain that they are not a useable source for data with which to answer questions about psychological processes. On the contrary, the archival data may include information about the variables of ‘interest’ but not for the population of interest. This is again explained by Hart’s usage of archival data only from a sample of males in the American Midwest to research on self-development from childhood into adulthood (Ives, 1995 p8). Questions about female self-development simply could not be answered with these data. Likewise, “questions about orphans, children in foster care, migrant children, or Native American children could not be answered using the said archival documents” (Ives, p9). In addition to the foregoing, the archives may be based on different measures than those that are currently in use. Simply put, the archival documents may contain different measures at different times and consequently present a big problem (Bearman, 1989 p38). This sometimes seems particularly true for psychological assessments, which have undergone and continue to undergo revision as they are made more reliable and more valid (Munslow, 2010 p43). A test commonly given at one time may be replaced by another test while a newly developed category may be completely absent from earlier reports as argued by Attwood (1996, p46). ORAL HISTORY “The real record of history is found in the lives of the ordinary people who lived it” (Curthoys, 2006 p15). This statement is found to be very true as is the case with the next that: “collecting, preserving and sharing oral histories not only transmit knowledge from one generation to the next, it enhances our understanding of the past by illuminating personal experience” (Curthoys, 2006 p15). These two preceding statements underscore the importance of oral history as a source of historical data. From the outset, Ritchie (1994, p65) describes oral history as the collection and recording of personal memoirs that contribute to historical data rather than focusing on hearsay or folk tradition. Accordingly, oral history “documents forms of discourse that are normally not documented” (Valerie, p12). It further lays emphasis on “the significance of human experience by largely respecting eyewitness accounts of events and situations ‘lived’ by the informants” (Ives, 1995 p11). Based on this illustration, oral history is argued to present a number of advantages and disadvantages as a source of historical data. The same are enumerated hereunder. Advantages Research work by Munslow (2010, p43) has discovered oral history as the best method to use in collecting historical data. It not only assists in getting an idea of what happened in the eons, but it also illustrates what past times meant to people and how it felt to be a part of those times (Munslow, 2010). In addition to providing an added dimension to historical research, oral history can also do a number of other things. One, it can foster appreciation for little-known or rapidly vanishing ways of life as well as verify the historicity of events which cannot be determined by traditional methods of historical research (Karskens, 2009 p60). Secondly, it can correct stereotypical images of life-ways and people in addition to recovering and preserving important aspects of a human experience that would otherwise go undocumented (Ives, 1995 p13). According to views proffered by Macintyre & Clark (2003, p49), the manipulation of oral histories not only transmits knowledge from one generation to the next, but also enhances our understanding of the past by illuminating personal experience. As also indicated in other paragraphs of this paper, doing oral history by use of good interviews provide background information, personal insights or anecdotes rarely found in official documents according to views held by Tosh (2008, p59). These contributions taken in conjunction with oral history’s ability to capture and preserve information that may not otherwise be saved clearly demonstrate the enormous importance of this technique in data collection (Marwick, 2001 p17). Disadvantages Oral history has never been the best method for collecting factual data such as specific dates, places or times simply because people rarely remember such detail accurately. However, almost all of oral history’s deficiencies are attributable to human errors. Firstly, oral history as a source of historical data has been found to contain personal biases (Valerie, 1994 p19). Majority of these personal biases may constitute important data for the historian’s consideration. When conducting oral history using interviewees, it has been discovered that the participants may be unwilling to honestly discuss mistakes or errors even years after the fact (Barbara & Montell, 1991). A potentially greater problem is the inability of some interviewees to provide accurate accounts of what happened probably due to the limitations of human memory as noted by Barbara & Montell (1991, p104). This in the views of Frost (2011, p65) becomes a special concern especially when recounting traumatic events or actions that took place years before. Another critical challenge in using oral history is found in the fact that individuals tend to condense the sequence of events and omit critical actions and judgments as time increases between an experience and its recounting (Ives, 1995 p13). Further still, oral history has been viewed as a panacea of an inexpensive and instantaneous way to preserve or produce history. When historians take this impulsive approach to oral history, Macintyre & Clark (2003, p51) argue that their work may be handicapped by poor planning and personal biases. CONCLUSION Archival documents and oral history are some of the sources of historical data. The foregoing discourse has undoubtedly highlighted some of the numerous advantages and disadvantages linked to this historiographical method available to historians. Even though some people have criticized historical study to be too narrowly focused on political events, armed conflicts and famous people, some study findings have insinuated the contrary (Blair, 2004 p7). Additionally, Curthoys (2006, p11) explain that deeper and more significant changes in terms of ideas, technology, family life and culture have received too little attention from historical research. This is true considering the fact that much of historical research has been largely concerned with “his” story rather than “her” story (Attwood, 1996 p43). To this effect therefore, “the stories, lives and achievements of women have been inadvertently left out” (Munslow, 2010). Moreover, some researchers point out that history is rather like a form of fiction, except that fiction makes people up while history uses characters that really did live. All in all, recent developments in history have sought to redress this anomaly. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that a properly conducted historical exploration can be a precious resource and a special means of preserving the past (Munslow, 2010 p44). This is not withstanding the type of historiographical method used in collecting data, may it be archival documents or oral history. REFERENCES Attwood, B. (1996), ‘“Making Histories” at Monash’ Australian Historical Association Bulletin, No. 82 May, pp43-46 Barbara, A & Montell, L. (1991), From Memory to History: Using Oral Sources in Local Historical Research. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Bearman, D. (1989), Archival Methods, Pittsburgh, Archives and Museum Informatics Technical Report No.9 Blair, M. (2004), “Reforming corporate governance: what history can teach us”, Berkeley Business Law Journal, Vol. 1, pp. 1-44. Curthoys, A. (2006), Disputing National Histories: Some Recent Australian Debates. Transforming Cultures eJournal Vol. 1 No. 1 Frost, A. (2011), Botany Bay the Real Story, Australia: Black Inc. Ives, E. (1995), The Tape Recorded Interview: A Manual for Fieldworkers in Folklore and Oral History, second edition. University of Tennessee Press Karskens, G. (2009), The Colony: A history of Early Sydney, Australia: Allen & Unwin. Macintyre, S & Clark, A. (2003), The History Wars. Melbourne University Press Marwick, A. (2001), The New Nature of History: Knowledge, Evidence, Language. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Munslow, A. (2010), The Future of History. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Richard, E. (2000), In Defense of History. New York: W. W. Norton and Co. Ritchie, D. (1994), Doing Oral History. New York: Twayne Publishers. Tosh, J. (2008), Why History Matters, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Valerie, Y. (1994), Recording Oral History: A Practical Guide for Social Scientists. Sage Publications Read More