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History in Your Hands project guide 2024-2025

Overview of class 1

In this class you'll meet the History in Your Hands project team. They will explain the project to you: its background, aims, participants, structure, competition element and available supports.

The team will talk to you about the Research Study Report (RSR) which you will learn how to choose, research, plan and write over the course of the project. 

You'll learn about the importance of taking notes as you read through the sources for your RSR and the best way to do that.

You'll be introduced to the online polling app Vevox, which you'll use during the project classes to answer questions on your phones. 

Finally, you'll learn more about history and propaganda and complete a group task.

At the end of class 1 you'll be asked to choose a potential RSR topic that interests you before Class 2.

Class 1 PowerPoint presentation slides: slideshow

Choosing your research study report topic

A student stands in a library browsing a shelf of booksThe research study aims to develop your interest in examining historical events. It aims to teach you a range of skills that will help you to carry out historical research and demonstrate independent learning.

With the research study you are expected to show that you are able to carry out a piece of research and demonstrate skills that include the ability to:

  • locate historical data (i.e. information) from a number of sources
  • evaluate the data
  • collate relevant data
  • present findings in a well-structured format
  • When you have a subject in mind, check with your teacher first before starting any in-depth research
     
  • Choose a subject for which there are good sources of information. You should be able to find these sources without too much difficulty - access to good evidence is vital to the success of your work. Choose sources that can be checked easily - in this way, the examiner can make sure that the information in the report is historically accurate.
     
  • Begin with a working title - this is likely to change slightly when you’ve finished researching and writing your essay.
     
  • Your chosen subject should be historically significant i.e. it must be be one of the following: remarkable, remembered, resulting in change and revealing.  See the is your topic historically significant guide for more information about this. You'll need to describe why your topic is historically significant in the 'define and justify' section of your outline plan. NB: A student's failure to explain why their subject is historically significant is a common area where marks are lost.
     

  • You can research any part of history for the RSR – e.g., political, sporting, military, local, women’s, scientific, warfare, etc. BUT the topic must be historically significant! See a list of suggested categories on page 14 of the Leaving Certificate History Guidelines for Teachers.

  • The subject that you’re going to investigate should be clearly defined and have a narrow focus. This will allow you to carry out an in-depth investigation which is an important part of the research study report. i.e. The IRA raid of Sligo Gaol, 1920 will allow you to achieve a greater depth of research than The history of Sligo Gaol. A clearly defined title allows you to analyse evidence, debate viewpoints, examine issues and draw conclusions. By doing this you’re using and demonstrating your level of historical skills.
     
  • Ideally the title of your research study report will include the date or range of dates of the historical topic you'll be researching i.e. The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 1963 or Seán Lester and his impact on the League of Nations, 1934 – 1946. Alternatively, it could mention a specific period in history i.e. The impact of the Great Famine on the Doneraile Estate, County Cork.
     
  • Avoid the key personalities and case studies covered in the History syllabus when choosing a subject. You can view these on pages 18-47 of the Leaving Certificate History syllabus. It may be possible to choose a key personality if you narrow the focus to examine a specific aspect of their history not covered in-depth in the syllabus – consult with your teacher about this.
     
  • Students studying higher level history and completing this project are expected to ‘show understanding of the broader historical context of research findings’, in their research study report. This means that you will be able to understand and describe how the subject you’re investigating fits into the time or era in which it takes place. For example, you might look at the social, cultural, and political circumstances that influenced an event in the past to understand it better. Take this into account when choosing your subject i.e. choose a subject from an area of history that you understand well.
     

  • Stay within the time limits laid out in the syllabus as you will not receive marks for material that covers events that occurred after these dates. If you are choosing a subject relating to Ireland and Irish history, your report should investigate historical events up to December 1993 and no further. If you are choosing a subject relating to Europe and the wider world your report should investigate historical events up to and including December 1992 and no further. You can refer briefly (one or two sentences) to the impact your subject had on political or historical events that fall outside the time limit, but you shouldn't go into significant detail.

  • The subject you choose should be unique -  nobody else in your class should have the same report title as you. The report must all be your own work - for Leaving Certificate History you'll sign a form countersigned by your teacher and principal stating that this is the case. See the penalties for copying, plagiarism (which includes the use of AI software), improper assistance, or procurement of work prepared by another party in the 2025 History - 2025 Research Study Report booklet from the State Examinations Commission (SEC) website.

  • After you have chosen a title for your research study it is a good idea to brainstorm the likely headings you will use. This will help you when you are filling out your aims in your Outline Plan and will help you organise your Extended Essay under different paragraphs. When you find information in your sources you may find it useful to collect that information or data under those headings.

Examples of RSR titles

The following RSR/historical research essay titles have been sourced from Online extract from Shortcuts to success History exam guide: Leaving Certificate - the research study, document questions and sample essays:

Martin Luther King and the FBI
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 1963 


The following RSR/historical research essay titles have been sourced from: Students' Guide to the RSR: Wicklow County Archives

The Coolattin Estate during the Famine 
The Poor Law and the Shillelagh Workhouse 
Death and Emigration from Wicklow during the Famine 
Wicklow women in WWI 
WWI impact on Wicklow 
Wicklow men in the great War 
Kynoch Munitions, Arklow and WWI 
Jennie Wyse Power - Women’s right activist 1858 - 1941 
Anna Parnell - Ladies Land League 
Teresa Dargan - Poor Law Union and Rathdrum Rural District Council


The following RSR/historical research essay titles have been sourced from A Guide to Writing Historical Research Essays for Second Level Students:

Is Nothing Sacred? How Fr Michael Griffin’s disappearance developed in real-time: the story then, and the story now.
Michael Cusack’s contribution to the revival of Gaelic Games in Ireland, 1883-1901
Bloody Sunday, 1972 and its Consequences
Brendan Duddy’s contribution to achieving peace in Northern Ireland throughout the Troubles, 1973-1991

Examples of RSR outline plans

This example of an outline plan for the RSR 'The assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 1963' is taken from: Online extract from Shortcuts to success History exam guide: Leaving Certificate - the research study, document questions and sample essays

These three pages from the Teachers' Guide to the History Research Study Report: Wicklow County Archives focus on how to write your outline plan. They give examples of two outline plans and you need to assess both and decide how well they fulfil the requirements and fit the marking indicators laid out.

Is your RSR topic historically significant?

Statue of emperor Caesar Augustus, Forum of Augustus in the backgroundYou must choose a research topic that it is historically significant i.e. an important part of history. If it is only important to an individual family, then it would not be historically significant for everyone. But, if it is a person from a family who was involved in an important historical event or movement, then you can say it would qualify.

To be considered historically significant your RSR topic should fall into at least one of the following '4R' categories: Remarkable, Remembered, Resulting in Change, Revealing. Check through each category using the tabs above to investigate if your topic is a suitable choice. This information is drawn from the Leaving Certificate History Research Study Report: A guide on How to Research: Wicklow County Archives.

Remarkable:

  • Was the event or person being researched remarked upon at the time or since the time? 

  • Were people talking about it at the time?  

  • Are people still talking about it in modern times? 

  • Is it an important event/person that is known nationally and/or  internationally? 

  • Did this event/person impact their world?  

  • In what way were their words/thoughts/actions/beliefs impacting the world at their time in history?

Remembered:

  • Is the person/event collectively remembered?  

  • How is the person/event remembered? 

  • Has the commemoration or remembrance of this person/event changed over the course of history? How? 

  • Are there commemorations to celebrate this person/event? Is it remembered locally/nationally/internationally? 

  • Do we still speak about this event/person regularly?

Resulting in change:

  • Did the person/event have consequences for the future? 

  • Did the event's/person's actions change the course of history? How? 

  • Did the course of the event change an aspect of culture/society/politics? How? 

  • Did the actions of the person influence modern life? How?

Revealing:

  • Does the event/person reveal something about another time in the past? 

  • Does the event/person reveal more information about a specific period in the past? 

  • Are we able to draw comparisons and connections between the past and now because of this event/person? 

  • What can we learn from the event/person that may influence our actions and beliefs now?

Contact us

All project participants can get dedicated support from a member of the project team. Please get in touch with the team member listed for your school below if you have a question, or if you'd like feedback on your research study report. 

Dominican College Griffith Avenue
Hayley Brabazon: hayley.brabazon@dcu.ie

St Vincent's Boys Secondary School
Killian Downing: killian.downing@dcu.ie

Trinity Comprehensive Ballymun
Celine Campbell: celine.campbell@dcu.ie