Help with historical research

December 9, 2012 10:45 AM

Where could I find a researcher online to help with background for a historical novel?

I'm working on a historical novel and have come to the realisation that if I'm ever going to finish the blasted thing I need some help with the research. I've checked Odesk and Freelancer but neither seem to offer this kind of work as one of their standard categories. Should I just post the job anyway and see who bids for it? I've never used a site like this before, so am unsure how to proceed. Or is there some other way I can find someone who is bright and resourceful and willing to work on a per-project basis?

posted by StephenF to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

You should post the job, though I would use Guru.com instead, since the quality of freelancers is better than Freelancer. You can choose which categories of freelancer are able to apply for your gig.

I am on Guru myself. And I do a lot of historical research for my own projects. Please feel free to PM me here for my qualifications and Guru contact info.
posted by RedEmma at 10:56 AM on December 9, 2012

Mod note: If you want to look for Mefites to do this, you can post it to Metafilter Jobs, but please do not use this post to look for people here to do it. By the same token, if people want to offer themselves as researchers, please contact the poster directly about that.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:59 AM on December 9, 2012

Post it on MeFi jobs.
posted by Wordwoman at 10:59 AM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you're more comfortable working with someone that you can meet in person, craigslist, and/or contact someone in the history department of your local colleges/universities about where to post to reach them. (Back in the day we'd just post a flier on a bulletin board in the department, but I don't even know if bulletin boards exist any more.)
posted by Ookseer at 11:54 AM on December 9, 2012

If there's a college/university in your area, you could send your ad to the relevant department office and see whether any of their grad students would be interested.
posted by orrnyereg at 2:26 PM on December 9, 2012

Best answer: Seconding the recommendation to check out local departments with postgraduate programs. You can find students in master's or doctoral programs who are trained to do research and are eager to supplement their income. Your profile indicates that you're in Dublin, but if your novel is set elsewhere, it might be a good idea to look for students in the area where it's set, especially if the information you need will be available in local publications or archives that haven't yet been digitized (or even reproduced in print).
posted by brianogilvie at 6:05 PM on December 9, 2012