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Archival research lies at the heart of most academic and other forms of original historical research; but it is frequently also undertaken (in conjunction with parallel research methodologies) in other disciplines within the humanities and social sciences, including literary studies, rhetoric, [4] [5] archaeology, sociology, human geography, anthropology, psychology, and organizational studies ...
Because archival description privileges intellectual content in context, descriptive rules apply equally to all records, regardless of format or carrier type. Records, agents, activities, and the relationships between them are the four fundamental concepts that constitute archival description. Archival description must be clear about what ...
At the highest level of description, a group of records from the same source is called a fonds (/fõː/)—or in some cases, "record group" or "papers". For example, the archival collection of Roxana Ng's records is called "Roxana Ng fonds". Going from the general to the specific, a fonds may be subdivided into series and subseries.
The unique nature of archival records and the geographic distribution of individual collections has presented a challenge for those wishing to locate and access them for over 150 years. [7] With the advent of international networked computing and online catalogs, however, the potential emerged for making archival collections searchable online.
Greek ostraka provide good examples of historical documents from "among the common people". Many documents that are produced today, such as personal letters, pictures, contracts, newspapers, and medical records, would be considered valuable historical documents in the future.
The process of creating a finding aid often begins with archival description. For example, Encoded Archival Description calls for a basic description of the collection, a list of controlled vocabulary terms, administrative information, biographical information, scope and content, arrangement, description of components, and other descriptive data. [10]
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. [1] [2]Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the history and function of that person or organization.
Archival records must be what they claim to be; accurately represent the activity they were created for; present a coherent picture through an array of content; and be in usable condition in an accessible location. [2] An archive curator is called an archivist; the curation of an archive is called archive administration.