What are the main emphases of historical research? What sorts of research questions does it address? ...

●   Historical research is a useful method for addressing big questions: “How did major societal change take place?” “What fundamental features are common to most societies?” “Why did current social arrangements take a certain form in some societies but not in others?”
●   Historical research is suited for examining the combinations of social factors that produce a specific outcome (e.g., civil war).
●   Historical research is appropriate for comparing entire social systems to see what is common across societies and what is unique to them—it is especially appropriate for comparing the same social processes and concepts in different cultural or historical contexts.
●   Historical research can apply a theory to specific cases to illustrate its usefulness.
●   Historical research can strengthen conceptualization and theory building—by looking at historical events or diverse cultural contexts, a researcher can generate new concepts in order to broaden the perspective; concepts can be also grounded in the experiences of people living in specific cultural and historical contexts.

Very helpful!