Historical & Archival Research Flashcards
7 cards from real CPI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Historical & Archival Research flashcards as text
Which type of historical document is most likely to contain firsthand accounts of unusual events reported by early American settlers?
Answer: Colonial diaries and personal journals
Colonial diaries and personal journals often contain firsthand, unfiltered accounts of strange phenomena witnessed by settlers.
When researching a reportedly haunted building, which architectural record would best reveal hidden rooms or sealed-off sections?
Answer: Original construction blueprints and floor plans
Original construction blueprints show the full intended layout, including spaces that may have been sealed or repurposed over time.
A paranormal investigator finds a location with reported shadow figures near a specific tree. Which historical record might reveal if an execution occurred there?
Answer: County sheriff execution records or coroner inquest logs
County sheriff records and coroner inquest logs document deaths, executions, and cause-of-death findings that may correlate with reported activity.
What does the term 'chain of title' refer to in the context of property research for paranormal investigations?
Answer: The chronological sequence of property ownership transfers
Chain of title is the chronological sequence of historical property ownership transfers recorded in deeds, which helps investigators trace a site's full history.
Which source would a CPI use to find historical accounts of paranormal activity published in a town's early newspapers?
Answer: State digitized newspaper archives such as Chronicling America
Chronicling America and similar state digitized newspaper archives preserve historical newspapers that often printed local accounts of strange events.
An investigator discovers that a property's deed contains a 'reversionary clause.' Why might this be significant in paranormal research?
Answer: It may reveal tragic circumstances that caused ownership to revert, such as a death with no heirs
A reversionary clause causes property to revert to the original grantor under certain conditions, which may reveal deaths without heirs or other dramatic circumstances in the site's history.
Which research method helps a CPI establish a 'baseline timeline' of events at an investigated location?
Answer: Cross-referencing multiple dated historical sources to sequence events chronologically
Cross-referencing multiple dated historical sources allows investigators to build a chronological sequence of significant events that may correlate with reported paranormal activity.