Essay on Historical Methods

Historiography which in other words in the writing of history is based on the examination of information sources, identification of specific information from the authentic sources as well as analysis and synthesis of the information in details into a story which seeks to provide factual information even after testing. In this essay, I will discuss the trends on Popkins on nutrition transition theory as being an important step in getting us to the kind of good history that we recognize today. This is because the ideas in the trends are rooted in reliable primary sources, and they are presented objectively.

The current history aims at reconstructing a record of people's activities as well as their achievements in the aim of understanding them. The concept of their tasks is rated recently with its development being in the early 19th century and late 18th century. It evolves from an outlook which is new to people's experience, inevitable and assumes that the study of history is inevitable. In comparison to the Popkins article on the global nutrition trends, several concepts on the significant development of history are identified. The trends in Popkins suggest that nutrition has kept on changing for years which has led to obesity. The diets started shifting to increased reliability towards processed foods, increased consumption of dietary sugars and oils as well as food away from homes. The changes, however, were not recognizable until clear signs of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension was realized globally in the year 1990. The rapid increase in these illnesses was realized and have continued being realized in the developing countries in the demographic regions where people earn low incomes.

The significant developments in historiography are identified in this writing. For example, early history was not considered as a significant part of regular education. It was not elaborative on the human life as a whole. This history majored in religion, poetry, philosophy as well as imaginative literature. Popkins however, provides information which is directly related to human beings and provide a recommendation on healthy eating habits. The article also shows historiography development in writing culture. As opposed to the past historiography where information was presented in the form of poems, books, and novels, the current historiography uses news articles, journals, memos and internet platform such as the website to present their information as the article by Popkins.

Another aspect in the development is the use of detailed research where the current historiography applies the use of qualitative and quantitive research techniques. For example, the article on Popkins gives statistical figures in support of the information and makes the comparison of the nutrition evolution of different countries. The research, therefore, appears as intense and hence makes the information presented as factual. The aspect of traditions is also presented in the writing which also supports the development of historiography. It is an essential element which should be discussed on any writing for it to be considered as a historiography. The article above discusses the people's culture using their ways of feeding. It refers to their traditions and the diet changes that have caused illnesses. The writing in history has also developed in the aspect of formatting and referencing. Current history uses work of other authors in the related fields to make references as the article by Popkins where he refers the readers to other links for additional information.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257829/