Abstract

DELGADO GARCIA, Gregorio. Concepts and methodology of historical research. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2010, vol.36, n.1, pp. 9-18. ISSN 1561-3127.

This paper briefly presented the main concepts of history as social science, its object, subject and aims, the most comprehensive conception of the philosophy of history as well as the research methods of this science such as the analytical-synthetic method - the historical method par excellence- in which heuristic synthesis going from generalization to particularization (deductive) plays the major role, supplemented with the hermeneutic synthesis going from particularization to generalization (inductive). The importance of the chronological, geographical and ethnographic sub-methods was underlined. Other fundamental associated sciences like archeology, paleography, epistemiology or gnoseology, numismatics, diplomacy, sigillography, heraldry, genealogy, iconography, philately and anthropology were mentioned and explained. Also, written and oral sources of historical research including traditions, monuments and a variety of ways to history review, memoirs and historical assays were taken into consideration. The commonly used classification of history into universal, general, national, provincial, local, institutional, genealogical, biographical and autobiographical was provided and exemplified as much as possible with the works by Cuban authors. Finally, the most frequent periodization used by bourgeois and marxist historians was set out.

Keywords : Historical research.

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