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Methods and Tips
- Think in terms of agencies, not subjects.
- Use search terms appropriate to the historical time. This may be a different term from what we use today.
- Remember that spelling of names and place can vary across documents. This is especially important when searching the full text of digitized documents
- Search broadly. Most documents are not indexed under obvious titles or specific events. You may have to look at a variety of documents under your time period, country of interest, or general event.
- Leave room for serendipity. Start with a general topic and let the documents lead you to a specific question.
