Archival research

Archival research is a type of research which involves seeking out and extracting evidence from archival records. These records may be held either in collecting institutions,^[1] such as libraries and museums, or in the custody of the organization (whether a government body, business, family, or other agency) that originally generated or accumulated them, or in that of a successor body (transferring, or in-house archives).^[2] Archival research can be contrasted with (1) secondary research (undertaken in a library or online), which involves identifying and consulting secondary sources relating to the topic of enquiry; and (2) with other types of primary research and empirical investigation such as fieldwork and experiment.