4. Find your stories
Once you have an object to investigate you can begin to research it. It’s always good to understand a little bit about the period of time you are looking at.
Undertake research about the period of history with which your object connects. Creating a timeline is a good way of documenting key events.
When you have a better idea about the period you are studying, think about what else you want to research.
Research questions
- What do you need to know to be able to tell your story?
- What was going on at this time in Australia?
- What big events were going on elsewhere in the world?
- What was going on in your family or the community where your object was located?
- Create a list of questions to guide your research.
If you are creating a migration story, you might research:
- Did many people come to Australia during this period?
- Where did they come from?
- Why did they come?
- What did they do when they arrived?
- Are there any links to your object's story?
- What was it like to come to a new country?
Places to start your research
- The people you are discussing your object with, especially the owner and his/her family
- The school/local library
- The Internet
- Your teacher
- Your family
- Your friends and neighbours
- Someone of a similar age to the person who owns the object
- Someone of a similar age to the object
- Someone from the place your object is linked to
Useful links
We may be able to help you with general research questions and the identification of manufactured or handcrafted objects.
National Archives of Australia