How do you choose a debatable dissertation question and plan the research for the Advanced Higher History project?
Choosing the dissertation question: finding a focused, debatable issue with a genuine historiographical debate and enough sources, then planning the reading and recording sources so the research supports an argument.
How to choose a dissertation question and plan research for the SQA Advanced Higher History project. Covers finding a focused, debatable issue with a real historiographical debate and enough sources, planning the reading, and recording sources so the research supports a sustained argument.
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What this key area is asking
The dissertation begins long before any writing, with two decisions that shape everything: which question to ask, and how to plan the research. A good question is focused, debatable and well sourced; good research planning maps the historiography first and reads purposefully. This page covers both, because a weak question or unplanned reading cannot be rescued later.
A focused, debatable, well-sourced question
- Focused. "To what extent was X responsible for Y" can be argued in the word limit; "The history of Z" cannot.
- Debatable. There must be a real disagreement, so you can take a position rather than narrate.
- Well sourced. You need primary sources to use as evidence and secondary works, including historians who disagree, to engage with.
A question that meets all three lets you build a sustained argument; one that fails any of them pushes you towards narrative.
Map the historiography first
The single most useful planning move is to find the debate early. Once you know which interpretations are in contention, your reading has direction: secondary works explain the interpretations, primary sources let you test them, and your argument forms as you decide which the evidence best supports. Reading without the debate in view produces notes but no argument.
Plan and record the reading
Read purposefully: secondary works for the interpretations, primary sources to test them. Record every source fully as you go (author, title, page), because accurate referencing is required and a lost citation is hard to recover. Keep a working argument, a provisional answer to your question, that each reading sharpens. And start early: the dissertation rewards wide reading and redrafting, neither of which can be crammed in the final weeks.
Examples in context
Try this
Q1. Name the three tests of a good dissertation question. [3 marks]
- Cue. Focused (arguable in 4,000 words), debatable (historians disagree), and well sourced (primary and secondary sources available).
Q2. Why should you map the historiography before reading in depth? [2 marks]
- Cue. It gives the reading direction, turning an open trawl into a purposeful test of competing interpretations around which an argument can form.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA AH dissertation10 marksExplain what makes a good dissertation question for the Advanced Higher History project.Show worked answer →
A planning question. A good dissertation question is focused, debatable, and supported by enough sources and historiography.
Focused: narrow enough to argue in 4,000 words, not a survey ("To what extent was X the cause of Y" rather than "The history of Z"). Debatable: there must be a genuine disagreement, so historians have taken different positions and there is an argument to make. Supported: there must be accessible primary and secondary sources, including historians who disagree. Plan the research around the debate: identify the schools of thought first, then read to test them. A question that meets all three lets the candidate build a sustained argument rather than a narrative.
SQA AH dissertation8 marksDescribe how a candidate should plan the research for the dissertation.Show worked answer →
A research-planning question.
First, map the historiography: identify the main historians or schools who disagree on the issue, because the debate frames the reading. Second, read purposefully: read secondary works to understand the interpretations and primary sources to test them, rather than reading at random. Third, record every source fully as you go (author, title, page) so referencing is accurate and nothing is lost. Fourth, keep a working argument that the reading sharpens. Starting early is essential, because wide reading and redrafting cannot be crammed. Two or three developed points earn full marks.
Related dot points
- Building historiography into the dissertation: setting out the schools of interpretation, evaluating them against primary evidence, and organising the whole argument around the debate so the conclusion takes a position within it.
How to build historiography into the SQA Advanced Higher History dissertation. Covers setting out the schools of interpretation, evaluating them against primary evidence, organising the argument around the debate, and reaching a conclusion that takes a position within it.
- Structuring and writing the dissertation: an introduction that frames the question and the debate, argued sections that use evidence and historiography, accurate referencing, and a conclusion that reaches a substantiated judgement within the word limit.
How to structure and write the 4,000-word SQA Advanced Higher History dissertation. Covers the introduction that frames the question and debate, argued sections using evidence and historiography, accurate referencing, managing the word limit, and a substantiated conclusion.
- The 50-mark project-dissertation: an independent 4,000-word research piece, what it requires (a clear question, primary and secondary sources, historiography, a sustained argument and a substantiated conclusion), and how it is marked.
An overview of the compulsory SQA Advanced Higher History project-dissertation. Covers the 4,000-word independent research piece worth 50 marks, what it requires (a clear question, sources, historiography, argument and conclusion), how it is marked, and why it carries roughly a third of the award.
- The historiographical skill: identifying the schools of interpretation in a field, setting out and evaluating historians' views, and using them to develop source answers, essays and the dissertation rather than name-dropping.
How to use historiography across SQA Advanced Higher History. Explains what historiography is, the schools of interpretation in a field, how to set out and evaluate historians' views, and how to weave them into source answers, essays and the dissertation rather than name-drop.
- Planning the essay: reading the command word, selecting and grouping the relevant factors, isolating and weighing each, and using detailed evidence to analyse rather than narrate so each factor answers the question.
How to plan a 25-mark SQA Advanced Higher History essay and analyse its factors. Covers reading the command word, selecting and grouping factors, isolating and weighing each, and using detailed evidence to analyse rather than narrate so every paragraph answers the question.
Sources & how we know this
- Advanced Higher History Course Specification — SQA (2019)
- Advanced Higher History - course overview and resources — SQA (2024)