First Step: Construct an overall line of inquiry, a theme or question 
"How do I come up with an idea?"
- Especially if this is your first historical research paper it helps to springboard from an event from your own family's history, perhaps your great grandmother survived the 1918 Influenza epidemic.
- Ideas can come from a current historical study that does not explore in depth a specific part of an issue. A chapter on the history of home birth leaves out discussion of how women may have learned about their birthing options in the 1970s.
- Comparisons on similar issues between different countries or varying time periods are often instructive. Did Canada react differently to the AIDS crisis then America?