Historical research is the act of thoroughly and systematically examining past events in order to create an accurate account of those events. Any historical question that aspires towards correctness and comprehensiveness in its answer requires that someone sit down and do that research to come up with an answer, or at the very least, a reasonable hypothesis. An answer to a historical question that
does not have a foundation in solid research and cannot cite reputable sources is, at best, suspect. However, not everyone has the time or the research experience to be able to find and analyze those sources, both primary and secondary, that will allow them to back up their existing answer with evidence, or will allow them to create a new answer. This is where historical researchers come in. An historical researcher will locate and analyze documents and evidence on any historical topic, paving the way for a greater and more accurate understanding of events past, whether they were events that shaped a country's history, or events that shaped the history of a single family.
