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Greetings National History Day participants!
Welcome to the NHD Online Discussion page! Below are the questions and answers from our online discussion about the 2009-2010 theme, Innovation in History: Impact and Change. Feel free to have another look at the NHD Rule Book, available on the Getting Started page in the "Contest" section and the NHD Theme book, available by clicking the theme logo to your left! If you have additional questions, please email info@nhd.org. Questions & Answers: Is there a certain time period it has to be in for something to qualify as an innovation in history? For example could something created recently in the last few years be able to be a project topic? We generally discourage students from reasearching topics that are current or too recent. This is because not enough time has passed for us to really see the historical impact the event/person has had on our society, way of life, future events, etc. Historians have not had the time to digest information and produce quality secondary sources, which are key in researching an event's historical context. Remember, the theme is Innovation "IN HISTORY." Will students focusing on a social innovation rather than a physical invention be at a disadvantage this year? How can students clearly make a link to this year's theme when some judges may only expect topics such as the wheel or gunpowder? Absolutely not! Students can select many different ways to look at "Innovation" other than just as inventions. The most important aspect of the topic selection in relation to the theme is that students should be able to articulate why their topic fits the theme. Can one factor be an innovation in multiple ways, such as a piece of artwork being innovation in art, advertising, and the general population's reaction? This sounds like an excellent NHD topic! A topic allowing students to look at "Innovation in History" through many different windows and the different areas of impact and long term change is ideal. Does an innovation need to be a tangible object or can it be an idea or concept? Yes, an innovation can certainly be an idea or concept. As noted above, it is important that the student is able to show why his/her topic fits the theme. My question pertains to the sub-theme: Impact and Change, particularly the word change. Does 'change' refer to the change caused by the innovation itself or the change the innovation undergoes throughout its existence, or can it be interpreted either way? The sub-theme is meant for students to think about the immediate impact and the long term change effected by the innovation. For example, the cotton gin not only had an immediate impact on the industry by decreasing processing time, but influenced a long term change on the institution of slavery with a refueled need for labor. To meet the "innovation" requirement, does the innovation need to be worldwide, or can it be innovative just in the United States, as long as it has demonstrated significant impact and change in the United States? The innovation topic can be part of World history, United States history, or both. It does not have to be an innovation with worldwide impact, and it does not have to be an innovation with an impact just in the United States. A middle school student is doing her NHD project on an invention in the United States. She is wanting to focus on the strides made by this female inventor during a time when the field was male-dominated. Does her focus need to be primarily on the invention, with the inventor's life being secondary? Although the female inventor will be a part of the research, the focus should be on the innovation. What are some sample projects of innovation? You can find sample topics in the NHD Theme Book, which is available by clicking the theme logo in the blue column on the left of this page. You will also find more theme information there. Samples are also available in the Getting Started page in the "Contest" section. Is fingerprinting a good topic? Fingerprinting is an excellent topic if it is approached from the immediate changes that took place in police work and the long term impact on criminal investigations. PLEASE REMEMBER - this discussion is about the 2009-2010 theme, Innovation in History: Impact and Change. Unrelated questions will not be answered here at this time. Is innovation the same as invention? Inventions can be an innovation and so can ideas. When you are thinking about your topic - think about something that has changed history. What ideas have changed education? What about banking? What about...? The list is endless. The major focus for any topic is to show how the innovation had an immediate impact and long term change. The topic of the student's choice has affected many people, but at an estimate what percent of the United States or the world wide does it need to have affected in order to be considered an innovation in history? There are no hard percents or exact numbers. You will need to make the case in your research and convince your audience through the evidence that the innovation you chose did have an impact on history. I have been encouraging students to determine and note a 'moment of change', regarding innovation, in their thesis statements. For example, the date of an invention or the time period of an innovative idea. Is that a good idea? The idea of having students focus on the “moment of change" is excellent. With this focus you are encouraging students to think about the historical context. Bravo! As far as inserting dates in their thesis statements, only if it fits. Not every student's thesis should include a date. Can you focus on an inventor not the invention or innovation? For this year's theme, you must focus on the innovation. The inventor is secondary. Is the innovation of explosives a good NHD project, how it has adapted through the ages? I would encourage you to begin with the invention of gun powder. Ask the questions; why was it important and how did it change history? Or if you are interested in warfare, you might look at innovation as a new idea. Look at the battle strategies implemented by Hannibal that are still studied today. I have a student working on wind energy and its impact on small towns. Does this approach fit the theme? He is stuck. The focus on small towns maybe too narrow and too recent. This is probably what is causing the sticking point. Encourage your student to think of wind energy historically. Can we do a innovation on nature or mountains? Establishing the National Parks is a great topic for "Innovation in History," but a just report on mountains would not be a quality NHD project. So, when we talk about "impact and change," how broad should the coverage be, considering the time limits, word limits, etc? In other words, how microscopic should the coverage of the changes and impact be? The impact of the innovation relates to the immediate time period. What happened socially, economically, politically... because of the innovation. Change is long term. I equate this with the legacy of the innovation. How did future generations benefit or were transformed by the innovation? Does it matter if an innovation developed quickly or over time? It is hard to capture an innovation in historical research over time without selecting an entry point. My advice is to begin your research at the point of impact. Is it better to come up with an original idea than to use one of the sample topics? Will using one of the sample topics put me at a disadvantage? Sample topics or original ideas both are equal. What is most important is the thorough research. Our innovation has many different types, but is considered the most important. Should we focus on the other types as well? With an innovation, focus on the largest historical impact and then support the focus with the secondary influences. Should we include what encouraged the inventor to create the inovation? The reason for the innovation is important in building the historical context. Include the information as a support, but not as a focus for your research. Is there a scope in terms of the impact? For example, an innovation whose impact is national or global vs. one that may be local. Will this affect how the student is judged? Impact is a criterion for the historical research. How the students build the case for impact, whether it is global, national or local, will be determined by the project. One will not be weighted over the others. How the student articulates his/her stance based on the evidence is the key to an excellent research project. Is Frank W. Abagnale a good topic to do as an innovation? I encourage you to consider the nature of the innovation and whether it is significant in history. What was the impact and the change that it brought about? The focus of this particular theme is not geared toward an individual, but toward an idea or something created that had great significance. Are we able to have a youtube video as a source and if so do we out it as an internet source? All sources must be cited. A Youtube video might be appropriate but I strongly encourage you to consider its value as a resource for your topic's significance in history. Be careful about choosing topics that are too recent - if that's the case. Topics that are at least 25 years old enable the perspective that is essential to analysis regarding significance and impact. My son is trying to develop a topic related to NASA. What would be the best way to narrow down this content? Is its existence in history too new? Perhaps a spin off technology that came out of the space program might be an interesting way to approach the topic. For instance: from the transistors to the computer chip, or the development in sensor technology. For this theme, is it okay to talk about the evolution of an innovation? Yes, you can show the reasons for the innovation and what came before, but the focus of the research is the impact of the innovation. Some guiding questions to think about are: Why did the innovation happen at this particular time and place/ In what ways was the innovation new? What need in society did the innovation fill and what changes occurred to society because of the innovation? What benefits did the innovation provide, and to whom? Is Photography a good topic? Photography by itself is too broad. To strenghten the topic, you may want to focus on how photography changed journalism or art, or as a foundation for moving pictures. If the innovation is still going on now, would a source from around this time be primary? Perhaps a primary source, but too recent for historical research. The general rule of thumb is at least a generation has passed (twenty-five years) so that history can reveal the impact of the innovation. How detailed does a student have to get with an innovation? My student wants to study the dictionary. Would it better to do one specific dictionary such as the OED? For "Innovation in History," you need to show how the innovation changed people's ideas, scientific knowledge, everyday behavior, political processes, etc. If you do select the dictionary, I would advise staying with the dictionary as the innovation instead of being specific about which dictionary. Is something still considered an innovation if most people haven't heard of it? In this case you need to question if the innovation is historically significant. Did the innovation change history by making life better or make people think differently? If a student chooses a topic which is relatively current, but is an offshoot of a previous invention, would this qualify under the theme? I noticed that you suggested they not use a current topic, but this one has a historical component. I would focus on the historical component and not the offshoot. Does a project about with a local or hometown Theme of Innovation receive more credence at National Level, than National or Worldwide Innovations? Credence is granted to the best research. Make the case for your topic with the evidence. So, when we talk about "impact and change," how broad should the coverage be, considering the time limits, word limits, etc? In other words, how microscopic should the coverage of the changes and impact be? Think of impact and change through this series of questions; How did people react inititally, in the short term (within a few years), and over the longer term (in later years), to the new ideas, arrangement, organization or technology? |
