For example, they look at government and institutional records, newspapers and magazines, photographs, and films. They also use sources such as personal interviews, diaries, and letters. Historians study the meaning of documents to learn about the past. Historians usually specialize in one area. The field might be social, intellectual, political, or diplomatic history.
Biographers collect and write down a person's life history.
Genealogists trace family histories. Other historians help study and preserve items in archives. Some historians try to keep historic buildings and sites from changing. Historians is a specialty of the CIS occupation Social Scientists . For more information, see the Social Scientists occupation.