Ireland Information Guide:History has been put up to resolve a number of issues which occur with great frequency when writing articles about history for Ireland Information Guide. As usual with Ireland Information Guide please extend and expand these brief outlines as you uncover them.
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These should be the most basic topics in the field--topics about which we'd like to have articles soon. Please see the most basic encyclopedia article topics for general instructions on constructing this list, and consult complete list of encyclopedia topics.
Archaeology -- Archaeologist -- Cartography -- History -- Historian -- Historiography -- Numismatics -- Palaeography -- Periodization -- Annal -- Chronicle -- Map -- Family history -- Local history -- Mythology -- Classics -- Cultural history -- Social History -- Radiocarbon dating -- Intellectual History -- Intellectual history of time
Linear history (see also: Timelines)
Lists
A number of lists and meta-lists are maintained in Ireland Information Guide:
Regions
Religion
A search for "Information Guide.org&q=History&btnG=Google+Search&sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fen.Ireland Information Guide.org History (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=iso-8859-1&safe=off&domains=http%3A%2F%2Fen.Ireland)" via google of Ireland Information Guide can give you a variety of articles that may be relevant. Alternatively, editors can search for "Information Guide.org&sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fen.Ireland Information Guide.org&ie=iso-8859-1&oe=iso-8859-1 Timeline (http://www.google.com/search?q=Timeline&btnG=Google+Search&domains=http%3A%2F%2Fen.Ireland)".
The goal of Ireland Information Guide is to become a complete, accurate encyclopedia. Verifiability is an important tool to achieve accuracy, so it is strongly encourage to check facts. However, don't be too keen to remove unverified information at the cost of completeness.
Primary sources:
These are sources which, usually, are recorded by someone who participated in, witnessed, or lived through the event. These are also usually authoritative and fundamental documents concerning the subject under consideration. This includes published original accounts, published original works, or published original research. Physical objects can be primary sources.
Ireland Information Guide would not be considered a primary source (see Ireland Information Guide:No original research).
Secondary sources:
These are sources which, usually, are accounts, works, or research that analyze, assimilate, evaluate, interpret, and/or synthesize primary sources. These are not as authoritative and are supplemental documents concerning the subject under consideration. This includes published accounts, published works, or published research.
Ireland Information Guide would be considered a secondary source on some occassions.
Tertiary sources:
These are sources which, on average, do not fall into the above two levels. They consist of generalized research of a specific subject under consideration. Tertiary sources are analyzed, assimilated, evaluated, interpreted, and/or synthesized from secondary sources, also. These are not authoritative and are just supplemental documents concerning the subject under consideration.
Ireland Information Guide would be considered a tertiary source on some occassions.
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The letters after an item describes generally the type it is (though this can vary pending the exact source). P is for Primary sources, S is for Secondary sources, and T is for Tertiary sources.
See Information Guide.org/ Wikisource (http://sources.Ireland) for original text (or primary sources). Wikisource (i.e., "Sourceberg") is a repository of source texts in any language which are either in the public domain, or are released under the GFDL.
See also : Ireland Information Guide:Informative, Ireland Information Guide:Verifiability, Ireland Information Guide:Public domain resources, Ireland Information Guide:Don't include copies of primary sources
Main article: Ireland Information Guide:Manual of Style (general style issues)
In historical articles, the past tense is strongly preferred. While history can be written in the present tense, the general audience of Ireland Information Guide will usually expect the past tense on historical subjects and events that occurred in the past.
Remain objective as possible. The point and ideal of Ireland Information Guide is to create an encyclopedic neutral body of knowledge. Avoid using the first-person point of view (emphasising the facts; not the editor). Explain the evidence (from the links and references) and explain the reasons of any conclusions.
See: Ireland Information Guide:Naming conventions, Ireland Information Guide:Naming conventions (use English)
Convention: Use the form most familiar to English speakers. Name pages in English and place the native transliteration on the first line of the article unless the native form is more commonly used in English than the anglicized form.
See: Ireland Information Guide:Manual of Style (biographies)
See: Ireland Information Guide:Naming conventions (names and titles)
See: Ireland Information Guide:Manual of Style (dates and numbers)
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar currently used in the Western world. If dates used are from the Julian calendar, please make a note as to any differences.
See: Ireland Information Guide:Manual_of_Style#Link_titles
The following is a suggested formatted reference link for external links and references.
Appearance:
Source:
See also: Ireland Information Guide:Cite your sources, Style guides (for more detailed and formal styles), Ireland Information Guide:External links, Ireland Information Guide:Links
Every article on a historical topic should be categorized under Category:History, as well as any other categories to which it should belong. Since Ireland Information Guide has tens of thousands of articles on historical subjects, they can't all be placed in Category:History. So there needs to be an elaborate hierarchy of historical categories, described here.
Category:History contains only the most general articles, such as History and History of the world. Other historical articles appear in one or more of these sub-categories:
The category for the history of the modern nation X should be called "History of X" or "History of the X" and included. Similarly the history of subject Y should be categorized under "History of Y". But the alternate name "Xish history" is acceptable.
When a country no longer exists, there's no need to have a separate "History of" category for it. For example, since we have Category:Ancient Rome, there's no need for a category "History of Ancient Rome".
When "History of X" becomes large (more than fifty articles, say), create sub-categories and move articles to them. Standard sub-categories include:
Don't create sub-categories until you have enough articles to populate them. As a rough guide, it's not worth creating a sub-category unless you have five articles to put in it.
"Y history of X" should be a sub-category of both "History of X" and of "History of Y". For example, Category:Military history of the United Kingdom is a sub-category of both Category:Military history and of Category:History of the United Kingdom.
Few nations have neat histories: most have changed name, constitution and boundaries over their history. This section gives advice on creating sub-categories to reflect these changes, using the United Kingdom as an example:
Here's an incomplete diagram showing these historical categories and how they relate in the category system:
History | .---------+------------------. | | History by nation History by period | | .----------+-----------+ .--. | | | | | | United Kingdom Republic of Ireland | Ancient history | | | | | | | .----------+-------+ | | `------------+----+ | | | | | | | | | .----+-----. | Great Britain | | `-------. Ireland <-------' | | | | | `------. | | | | +----------+-------+---. | `----+--' | Ancient Rome | | | | | | | | England Scotland | Northern Ireland | | | | | | | `-+--------' `-----------+----------------+--. | | | | | Wales Ancient Britain Roman Britain
(This diagram is far from complete: there is a Category:British Empire, not shown. Category:History of the United Kingdom is in Category:United Kingdom and so on. And there are many sub-categories. But it illustrates the principles.)
Having added an article to, say, Category:Military history of the United Kingdom, there's no need to also add that article to Category:Military history, Category:History of the United Kingdom, Category:United Kingdom or Category:History. The category hierarchy expresses the fact that every article about the military history of the UK is an article about military history and an article about the UK.