Doing Factual Research Is HARD WORK!!

LeeG

As I continue to work on my book project I've found that finding factual information is HARD WORK!! I really have a lot of respect for folks like RWB who take the time to use factual/real history is their works. Real history is very hard to find as the US Mint was not good at maintaining records. Plus ensuring proper image credits, etc., etc,. Just wanted to vent a little bit.

baddogss

I hear you. I've never written a book, but I bet it is difficult at best.

Take a look at the foot notes for this book "Striking Change - The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens" and you get an idea of how much effort it takes to get the facts.

What is your book about ... if you can tell us without having to kill us?

LeeG

<< <i>What is your book about? >>


Based on these lessons:


Commem History

doh

Completely non-factual research is SO much easier. And usually a lot more fun

blu62vette

Based on your prior write-ups here that will be one great book!!!

Dennis88

Sounds extremely familiar. I also find it often hard to remain on the subject in simple, basic topics. Always reminds me of my teacher at school in (I believe) 4th grade. During one history hour he started talking about 4,000 year old European history, and he ended with nuclear submarines. Wouldn't have been much of a problem if the lesson was meant to stay on the first subject, which it obviously did not.

Dennis

BECOKA

I know exactly what you are talking about. I have been working on a book and thought I could find what I need and finish it in 6 months. I now think it will take years.

Bcsican

I have been researching for years the work is never done and constantly rechecking to make sure it is accurate is a pain in the ass...
Not big rewards either except to say you did it......

Coinosaurus

Research work consists of three parts.

1) Locating the source material and visiting the archives, libraries and other institutions that house it. In this stage, being a good detective helps. You can also piggyback on previous efforts by reading other author's footnotes and re-examining their cited material. Having good networking skills is key at this stage - curators and other researchers should be partners, not competitors.

2) Absorbing the archival material and synthesizing the ideas with existing research. This requires reading a lot of books and critically thinking through the existing literature and new findings. Most of this can be done at home if you have a good library, also the Internet sites Google books and Abebooks are indispensible.

3) Documenting and writing up your results. This requires good organization skills (for example, RWB prints a full citation on every single sheet of paper in his research files) as well as the ability to write well and convey information in an interesting manner. This phase is very straightforward & without surprises if everything from the previous steps is in order.

firstmint

I've been working on my John Ford & the "Franklin Hoard" book for decades!

Hope to have a draft ready by ANA next month. Trying to keep it under 500 pages is becoming a real problem.

LeeG

<< <i>Completely non-factual research is SO much easier. And usually a lot more fun >>



You bring up a good point doh. I'd like to add that the rehash of the same information is passed on that may not be fact. It takes real time and energy to ensure the truth is told. False information hurts the collector.

Dentuck

If any forum topic could tempt RWB back to the boards, it would be this one! This should be like the distinctive whirring of a can opener to a housecat's finely tuned ears.

BECOKA

<< <i>

<< <i>Completely non-factual research is SO much easier. And usually a lot more fun >>



You bring up a good point doh. I'd like to add that the rehash of the same information is passed on that may not be fact. It takes real time and energy to ensure the truth is told. False information hurts the collector. >>



I guess 90+% of the posts on these boards should be deleted then.

mgoodm3

With my work on a high-magnification imaging book, figuring out what the facts actually are is a pretty painful process (optics stuff predominantly). Optics is a subject that is truly painful. Seems simple, but it is so far from it.

AUandAG

Yes, I've been researching one coin for over 10 years and still can't find what I need. Making
a trip to the University of Nevada to search archives there in Aug. Will be very surprised if
I find what I need but the hunt goes on!

bob

ModernDollarNut

I love writing about Ikes because the appaling scarcity of mint records thanks to Director Stella Hackel leaves even the serious researcher (like me and the Ike Group) with mere tid-bits of documentation. As tantalizing as these tid-bits are, the greater challenge is building a seamless fabric that ties together these tid-bits with hardcore study of the Ikes themselves using a strong dose of common sense.

Fortunately, the Mint was so error-prone as the large Ike dies were designed, created and put to use in the first two years of the series that we have in the coins themselves a rich array of raw data to sort through and tie in to the over-arching story, a story I continue to document in bits and pieces and in occasional stand-back essays like my Sundman Lecture at the August '08 ANA convention at Baltimore linky

I've been writing this book for 3 years and we are just now seeing the book begin to take shape as the most difficult section is finally yielded to our efforts via a fresh approach to the Ike Doubled Dies.

RWB has been an invaluable asset to our work. As he went through all the Morgan and Peace Dollar stored records, he came across very occasional mis-filed Ike records, copied them and gave them to us.

How gratifying it was to see buried in one packet of at-first un-intelligible Philly Mint records a mention in passing of at least one master die hubbed from a working die, a concept we first proposed based solely on our intensive study of the 1972 Philly Ikes, the brilliant thinking of Herb Hicks and a large dollup of creative connecting of "dots". Rob

Rob

baddogss

<< <i>Based on your prior write-ups here that will be one great book!!! >>



I agree and I'm looking forward to seeing it in print. Bob

JupitarCoins

Hey LeeG I just noticed your back from your hiatus.
Welcome back.

Nysoto

Hard work and also expensive! The small amount of research I have done for a few articles was limited by the amount of money available for coin purchases, books, travel, etc. Since it is a labor of love, the "work" is very satisfying.

LeeG

<< <i>Hey LeeG I just noticed your back from your hiatus.
Welcome back.
>>



Appreciate it!


RWB is "The Man"!!!!! It looks like he has helped many of us on our projects!!!!!

Longacre

I think that is why I get so much enjoyment from the boards and participating here-- I spend day in and day out writing factual things (imagine how quickly your very own Longacre would get the boot from The Man if he made up the tax law as he went along), and it is draining. Writing posts on these boards is a break from all of that factual stuff (though I try to write accurate statements here, but it is different).

I also don't read fiction books for the same reason. It is much harder to write a biography or book about a historical event, than it is to write a Stephen King novel (not to insult Mr. King.