Historical Mapping Method: New Research Method for Research Methodology

Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014

HISTORICAL MAPPING METHOD: NEW RESEARCH METHOD FOR RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Dr. Tin Naing Win Department of History, Yadanabon University

ABSTRACT have been vi vidly a nd t horoughly explained i n t his pa per a long with In doi ng hi storical recon- some supporting citations and instances. struction s everal d ifferent fo rms o f Moreover, the r esearcher h as j udged research methods ar e u sually used on the defect and perfect points of the laying d own r esearch methodology, new method introduced. firmly. Once a research methodology is laid down, it must be the one that The f our u ltimate o bjectives can a ppropriately s upport a nd shape of writing this research paper are: the field of research or subject matter • To i ntroduce a n ew r esearch studied. There a re a num ber of method i .e. “ Historical Map- historical sources that can be presen- ping Method” ted not only in the form of words but • To pr ove t hat hi storical map- in the illu stratable p attern o r s truc- ping method is very important ture. In other words, historical events, and us eful not onl y i n doi ng facts an d d ata that ar e neither historical research but i n pur- geographical f eatures n or physical suing other disciplinary studies reality, can b e r epresented as ‘histo- • To show the practical drawing rical m aps’. T herefore, i n t his paper of s econdary hi storical maps attempts h ave b een made to r eveal using t he hi storical mapping and introduce the Historical Mapping method Method, a new research method, into • To en courage h istorical researchers research methodology, a nd t hrow to us e t his a pplicable ne w much light on t he i mportance of research method historical ma pping method i n hi storical reconstruction and research with As this study is a preliminary concrete evidences to solve why i t is introductory r esearch work i n t he so i mportant. W ith a br ief comparison field, it will bring us to a new field of with other r esearch m ethods, t he research i n n ear fu ture. T herefore, I definition to the H istorical M apping simply hop e t hat i t would be a Method that has never been described significant contribution, so to say, not in p revious research methodological merely f or t he hi story and hi storical works, its importance, usefulness and research b ut for t he de velopment of benefits for various kinds of research research methodology itself. 57 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014

KEY WORDS disciplinary r esearch t rend, r esearch categories, r esearch m ethods, d ata Historical Mapping Method, collection m ethods, da ta analyzing Research Methodology, Secondary and synthesizing and research metho- Historical Map, dology. Non-readymade Secondary Historical Map, Mappable Sources, Mappable In doi ng hi storical recon- Data, struction s everal d ifferent fo rms o f Mappable Theme, Mapping research methods ar e u sually u sed laying dow n r esearch methodology, firmly. Once a research methodology THE ROLE OF RESEARCH is laid down, it must be the one that METHODOLOGY IN DOING can a ppropriately s upport a nd shape HISTORICAL RESEARCH the field of research or subject matter studied. Similarly, the research methods Research is g enerally u nder- to be us ed must also be s uitable and stood t o f ollow a c ertain s tructural appropriate with t he r esearch unde r process. Although pr ocedure or investigating. The r esearch m ethods research m ethodology m ay vary that are mo stly u sed in h istorical depending on t he s ubject m atter a nd research are h istorical m ethod, researcher, such steps as formation of descriptive m ethod, c ase s tudy m ethod, the topic, hy pothesis pr esenting, comparative method, etc. These methods conceptual a nd ope rational definitions, are, i ndeed, d ata p resentation data g athering a nd analysis, hy pothesis methods w hich a re to be us ed in testing, c onclusion a nd i nterpretation alternative w ays as ar e n ecessary are usually p arts of mo st f ormal depending on t he bases of available research, bot h ba sic a nd applied. sources, da ta a nd f ield of s tudy in Etymologically, the w ord ‘ research’ doing r esearch o n d iverse academic derives from the French ‘recherché’, disciplines. T herefore, al l t hese from ‘rechercher’, t o s earch closely methods a ssociate w ith a ll ki nds of where ‘ chercher’ m eans ‘ to search’; academic d isciplines. I n accordance its lite ral me aning is ‘ to investigate with the em ergence o f n ew m ulti- thoroughly’ N owadays r esearch is disciplinary s ubjects and t he expan- defined a s an or ganized and sion of the scopes of fields of study, systematic way of finding answers to number of research methods becomes questions, and human activities based increased, a nd di verse in form. on in tellectual a pplication in invest- Therefore, there would be found that tigation o f ma tter. T ruly, i n doi ng various research m ethodologies i .e. research, t he ap plication o f intellectual research m ethods are s tated differently knowledge i s ve ry i mportant a nd in numerous research methodological certainly e ssential. Similar v ital factor works written by eastern and western is that it is also needed to understand, scholars on the subject. In Wikipedia thoroughly and de finitely, a bout 58 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 that had b een l astly edited i n J uly local h istorians mu st c ertainly d o s o 2007, t here are a ltogether nineteen as it will be more fully endowed with research methods d escribed, w here information if a lo cal h istory is one may notice that data presentation presented not only with texts but with methods, data collection methods and historical ma ps. It must b e said th at research t ypes h ave b een described, this is either a requirement o r an collectively a nd c onfusedly. H owever, obligation. Therefore, i n s uch c ase, there is another research method that one m ust ap ply t he n ew research has ne ver be en de scribed or that method historical ma pping me thod; cannot be found in all these ‘manuals research r esults t hat r eceived b y t he of research’ w orks a nd onl ine Wiki- using of t hat ne w m ethod w ould be pedia and en cyclopedias. That i s a significant contribution for the related new r esearch m ethod cal led ‘historical local history an d h istorical r esearch mapping method’. as well. C orrespondingly, one m ust also t ake n otice o f t he cap able o f presenting other historical events that INTRODUCTION OF HISTORI- are not as sociated w ith l ocal o r CAL MAPPING METHOD INTO regional hi storical s tudy, in t he form RESEARCH METHODOLOGY of maps or figures by using historical mapping method. The reason for the introducing of h istorical ma pping method is that For Myanmar history, we find as some certain historical sources and various s orts of pr imary hi storical facts a re not onl y m appable or sources t hat can b e co nverted as illustratable sources and facts but also useful hi storical m aps s uch for they should be m apped a nd pr esented, example as pei, parabaik, s tone if they are transformed from the form inscription, sittan, royal chronicle and of words to a map and then presented, gazetteer. A s s uch ev ents a s t ravel it would be more obvious, observable accounts w ere us ed to r ecord i n the and able to provide respective historical sources l ike pei and/or parabaik, study. A nother r eason is be cause of route maps c an be dr awn ba sed on the thoughtlessness and negligence of those a ccounts. L ocality of a parti- historical w riters c oncerning historical cular pl ace, area, di stance, population, maps in doi ng hi storical r esearch. background s ocio-economic c onditions This means t hat a hi storian w ho are u sually described i n gazetteers studies a bout a l ocal, r egional or and sittans census-requests. Therefore, global hi story does not us ed t o draw numerous good m appable hi storical or study maps that are directly related events and facts can be found also in to the l ocality or r egion he s tudied. such sources. The fact that what kind Indeed, if there have already been as of historical maps can be drawn from much mappable s ources an d f acts as these sources will depend on the field needed t o be mapped a nd presented,

59 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 studied a nd on t he sources a nd method of ‘ using’ or ‘ drawing’ of historical events available. figures o r ma ps ma y s ometimes become n ecessary, certainly and In w riting hi story, some inevitably. In s uch c ase, t he m ethod people think that history can only be should b e p ractically u sed w ith cl ear reconstructed w ith ‘ text’ or ‘words’. and r eal unde rstanding on i t. They s eem not t o have t hought that Especially, that method ought to have whether history c an pr esent w ith been al ready as a cer tain k ind of another way e xcept f or w ords. research m ethod i n r esearch Indeed, hi story can b e r epresented methodological c ontext. I f t his w ere also w ith ‘p ictures’ o r ‘fi gures’. In so, w hy do es s uch ki nd of method other w ords, i n doi ng hi storical need i n t he r esearch s phere? What research illustrating m ethod can b e kind of m ethod t he hi storical used in order to become animated. As mapping method is? one of the goals of historical research is t o c ommunicate a n understanding of past event, it is to shape the past to HISTORICAL MAPPING become obvi ous w ith e very pos sible METHOD means. A ctually, t he p ractice of illustrating ‘ picture’ o r ‘ map’ in Historical mapping method is historical works ha s been us ed s ince “the one that represents the historical the beginning of m odern hi storical events, facts or numerical data that writing by s uccessive hi storians. occurred or existed in a certain space However, that is not the utilization of during a period or a time span as a illustrating as a r esearch me thod b ut form of ‘map’ or ‘figure’, after only the following of conventional or having collected them under a given traditional way. F or example, it c an phenomenon or topic”. be seen t hat one or t wo M yanmar To s ay mo re, Historical historical maps (map(s) of Myanmar) mapping m ethod i s the visualization are used to be described on the inside of spatial and/or historical data; it is pages of front or back cover of local especially intended for visually Myanmar hi story books w ritten by oriented learners. T herefore it i s a such M yanmar and w estern scholars method th at ma kes p ictorial repre- as Arthur Phayre, G.E. Harvey, G.H. sentations o f th e d ata in two- Luce, Pe Maung Tin and Htin Aung. dimensional space. Still, this is merely formal description and not hing m ore t han t hat. As t heir The chief feature of historical history w orks a re onl y t he one s that mapping m ethod i s, ne edless t o say, have presented hi story i n g eneral, ‘map’. Here, the word map represents such tr adition o f ma p illu strating is object, s tructure, l ocality, nation, natural and typical. However, for the region, a nd globe. U ltimately, the specialized h istorical r esearch, the universe c an be a dded i n t he list.

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Actually, t hey ar e m erely s patial Usually maps present a view elemental things which are the typical from above. Normally the space basics of a map. The meaning of the they represent is a geographic word map is very broad in scope. It is area (cities, towns, countries or as broad in its scope as it is narrow, neighbourhoods, for example), depending on who is asked to define but maps can in theory represent it as a term. It is said that in the 21st non-geographical things (a “map” century it is possible to find a map of of the circulatory system) or even virtually anything from inner working thing with no physical reality at of the hum an body to t he vi rtual all (a “map” of someone’s conscious- worlds of cyber space. By seeing this ness).” the t erm can be defined i n various Therefore, i t i s no doubt that ways in line with the respective field historical events, f acts and d ata t hat of subject. The extensive definition of are n either g eographical f eatures n or the word map can be found in online physical reality, can be represented as Wikipedia, with its ty pical me aning, ‘historical maps’. Because of that we like that find s uch a de finition a s “ a map is “A map is a visual representation anything which represents graphic- of an area a symbolic depiction ally a succession of events, states, or highlighting relationships between acts; as an historical map.” Now, we elements of that space such as have s tudied t he de finition of objects, regions, and themes. historical mapping m ethod, s ome Many maps are static two- aspects of hi storical map a nd s ome dimensional space, geometrically important m eanings of t he word accurate representations of three- ‘map’. T herefore it is cl ear that th e dimensional, while others are method c an be us ed not onl y in dynamic or interactive, even historical research b ut i n al l o ther three-dimensional. Although most kinds of researches. commonly used to depict geo- graphy, maps may represent any space, real or imagined, without BRIEF COMPARISONS WITH regard to context or scale; e.g. OTHER RESEARCH METHODS Brain mapping, DNA mapping, In c omparing h istorical map- and extraterrestrial mapping.” ping method w ith other m ethods i t Moreover, in the same onl ine can be followed in two ways: general Wikipedia, the a nswer in r egard t o collective comparison an d s pecial the que stion on the m eaning of map selective comparison. F irstly, if w e is follow: make general collective comparisons, we will find that, like other methods, “A map is a flat, two-dimen- sources an d d ata ar e especially sional representation of an area. important to apply historical mapping 61 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 method i n doi ng r esearch. H owever, synthesization. T he di fferent poi nt is for t he hi storical m apping m ethod that o ther r esearch m ethods, ex cept sources a nd da ta must be primary descriptive s tatistical r esearch mappable sources a nd da ta. T his method, r epresent t he an alyzed data means that ev ery h istorical ev ent o r as textual f orm w hereas h istorical fact c annot be us ed t o map. mapping method presents the data in Therefore, the av ailability o f s ources the c onfigurational s hape of m ap(s). and da ta f or ot her m ethods i s broad Therefore data can be seen visually as and extensive while it h as limitations a p icture o r i mage; we can g et a or r estrictions for th e historical chance f or r einterpretation after mapping method. I n t erms of judging and evaluating of that image synthesizing a nd pr esenting of data, again from which new conclusion can other r esearch m ethods f ollow to be developed. As such it is seen that present analyzed data within selected historical m apping m ethod can stand theme o r f rame. S imilarly, h istorical separately w ith its o wn s tyle lik e mapping method a lso p resents other research m ethods ap peared i n research d ata after p erforming data Figure 1.

Figure 1. Network Diagram Showing the Differences between HMM and Other Research Methods.

As f or t he s pecial s elective cartography or mapmaking is described comparison, cartography method, compa- as a research m ethod i n r esearch rative m ethod, hi storical m ethod a nd methodological context. It i s t he statistic method would be suitable to study a nd pr actice of m aking r epre- compare with hi storical m apping sentations of t he E arth on a f lat method for they are not only closer to surface. Cartography combines science, the h istorical mapping m ethod but aesthetics, a nd te chnical a bility to also comparable with it. create a b alanced an d r eliable r epre- sentation t hat i s c apable of c ommu- Firstly, we will make attempts nicating i nformation effectively a nd to compare historical m apping m ethod quickly. As s uch t his m ethod can be with ‘cartography’, a method of geo- called a geographical m apping m ethod graphical m apping a nd s tudying. It as w ell a s a me thod o f u tilizing has not be en for a l ong t ime t hat 62 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 directly to the readymade maps. made within the frame set or fixed by However, historical mapping method the sources and data. However, a is a method of making a historical good idea or inspiration is essential map by using only historical data. for how will these mappable data be Therefore, it does not need science, presented in which kind of map or aesthetics, and technical ability as is figure. Because of this reason the needed in cartography. This means historical mapping method is totally that scale, grit lines, etc. are not different from so-called cartography essential things to be used in applying method. Accordingly, stages of historical mapping method. But what research process are also dissimilar to is required is only mappable sources each other as follow in Figure 2. and data; historical maps should be

Figure 2. Network Diagram Showing the Differences between HMM and Cartography Method.

Secondly, the selected method historical mapping method sources or with which historical mapping data would be only in a single form, method should be specifically compared ‘text’. However, as an exceptional is ‘comparative method’; which is, case, in the subject like archaeology indeed, extensively useful as well as ‘object’ may be sometimes a source influential over all other research type. Again, for the comparative methods. It can be used by method there should be at least two integrating it with all other research or more comparable data sets in order methods. For example, maps that to make comparisons whereas for the have been mapped by using historical historical mapping method data will mapping method can be compared be only a kind of mappable data that with each other by using comparative are extracted from mappable histo- research method. The sources or data rical sources. This can be seen like- for comparative method may be text that in Figure 3 as well as figure. However, for the

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Figure 3. Network Diagram Showing the Differences between HMM and Comparative Method.

In r esearch sphere, l ike compa- collecting and synthesizing processes rative m ethod, hi storical m ethod can all p rocedures ar e the s ame t o the influence ove r ot her r esearch methods, statements mentioned unde r t he and s tand i ndependently as a certain section of di scussion on g eneral research method. This means that in a collective comparisons between historical work lik e ‘ A H istory o f Chemistry’ mapping m ethod and ot her research historical me thod mu st in evitably be methods. A s s elective t extual d ata used. W hat s hould be not ed he re is for both methods are of events, facts, that the terms ‘historical method’ and states, and acts of the past, it is very ‘historical r esearch’ ar e d issimilar t o extensive and broad. each o ther. The former is a ki nd of Lastly, the method that should research m ethod a nd the later i s a also be c ompared w ith historical research p rocess o n t he s ubject mapping method is ‘statistic method’. ‘history’. T herefore, i n e very disciple- There are t wo ki nds of s tatistic nary research h istorical m ethod can method: v iz. ‘ Descriptive S tatistics’ be ap plied. I f w e co mpare s uch a and ‘ Inferential S tatistics’. O ut o f broadly us eful ‘historical method’ them hi storical m apping m ethod c an with historical m apping m ethod, i t be c ompared w ith t he f ormer, ‘ descrip- would be found that the fundamental tive s tatistics me thod’. A ccording to natures are t he same t o each o ther. their na ture, historical m apping method Historical me thod attempts to describe and d escriptive statistics m ethod ar e a s eries of ev ents, facts, s tates, and very s imilar; bot h m ethods represent acts of t he pa st i n chronological research d ata i n t wo-dimensional order. S imilarly, if there a re map- form or i llustrated s tructure. The pable data av ailable, a s eries of reason f or t he a pplying of t hese two historical maps can b e r evealed methods is t o de scribe, s ummarize chronologically by a pplying historical and explain or make sense of a given mapping m ethod. T hen, w e can set of da ta. T he t wo m ethods us e discuss and c riticize pr ogress a nd descriptive t extual s ources, a nd another retrogress o f the pa st by s tudying similarity between the two methods is chronologically or periodically produced that if t here i s no m appable s ource historical m aps. I n regard to d ata and da ta hi storical m apping m ethod 64 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 cannot be applied as well as if there is Therefore, this method is the one that no qua ntifiable num erical da ta describes research d ata i n t he statistic method is unable to be used. combined f orm of num erical variables For t he hi storical m apping method, and g raphics s uch as ba r g raph, line mappable data w ould be qua litative graph, pie g raph, hi stogram, s catter categorical t extual v ariables o r s ome plots, etc. O n t he ot her ha nd, data l ike r elationships a mong va riables. historical m apping m ethod, a s stated In co ntrast, the q uantitative categorical above, constructs the research describing numerical variables are set of data for map(s) w ith te xt ( and la bels) in descriptive s tatistic me thod which combined way. The pattern would be needs f requencies, p ercentages and like that appeared in Figure 4. intervals or g rouped i ntervals.

Figure 4. Network Diagram Showing the Differences between HMM and Descriptive Statistic Method.

However, a very s ignificant and methods t hat they can mutually r ely distinctive f act is th at h istorical on each o ther. A s a s ample m ap mapping m ethod and de scriptive following is selected. This prism map statistic method can be integrated and shows Canada’s statistical population applied as a u seful m ethod cal led changes in 1996 - 2001 by provinces ‘mixed research m ethod’. T his f act and territories i n combined way of a shows the nature of the two research map and bar-chat.

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Figure 5. A Sample Prism-map Made by Applying both HMM and Descriptive Statistic Method.

Therefore, w hen w e co mpare topographic m apping, t opological historical mapping method with other mapping and so on; and all of which research methods i n t he m eans has t heir ow n w ays i n m aking map. mentioned a bove, w e f ind obvi ously Similarly h istorical ma pping me thod that th e f ormer h as its o wn also has its own style and method to characteristic f eatures; an d i t can represent historical data. Therefore i t stand independently and separately as can be known that maps can be found a ce rtain r esearch method, a nd be in various forms or styles. used b y m ixing w ith ot her r esearch In the catch phrase ‘historical methods. H owever, f or t he s ake of mapping method’ t he w ord ‘ historical’ more understanding on t he method it represents the events, facts, states, or still needs to explain in detail. acts ev erything h appened o r ex isted in t he past b y source, d ata, or t heme while the ‘mapping’ is meant for the THE AIM OF HISTORICAL illustration o f th ese h istorical v ariables METHOD in one or a nother f orm of ‘ picture’. As has been stated above, the Therefore, for o ur p urpose w e w ill word ‘ map’ ha s m any di verse use a b road definition "mapping" as meanings. I n t he same m anner the the r epresentations of a ll m appable meaning of t he word ‘ mapping’ i s historical s ources and data under also wide i n r ange. I n acad emic o r every possible ‘theme’. In illustrating nonacademic s tudies, s everal methods ‘picture’, t he representation i n t he of mapping are found frequently such form o f ‘map’ is p rime c ustom o r as animated mapping, pictorial mapping, tradition o f th e h istorical ma pping thematic m apping, g eneral mapping, method. According to this definition, 66 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 it w ill b e f ound th at h istorical illustrated h istorical map(s) in order mapping m ethod c overs not m erely to b e aw are o f t he p ast i n a w ide the s tudying and researching o f range. Therefore, the sources that can history but a lso t hat of ot her be mapped are, as already mentioned disciplines. above, t he one s t hat c ontain events, facts, states, o r act s o f the p ast. I f a However, i n cr eating a source ha s e ither one out of these historical m ap, it doe s not ne ed to four e lements o r a ll o f th em th e follow c ertain m apping pr ocedures, historical m apping method c an be techniques and m odus ope randi, applied. As for source type, it may be rigidly and unbendingly. In general, it vary a ccording t o field of s tudy. For can b e m apped w ithout c onsidering Myanmar hi story, m appable hi sto- of scale ba r, g rid line, c ontour l ine, rical s ource-types a re s tone i nscription, terrain, etc. as they ar e u sually pei, parabaik, r oyal chronicle, r oyal included in a t ypical g eographical order, t ravel a ccount, contemporary map. H owever, every hi storical map literature, sittan, and gazetteer. More- needs some concepts of map symbol- over, secondary hi storical m aps c an logy, for i nstances, c ompass r ose or also be made by using other kinds of north a rrow, i nformation a bout map sources that ar e av ailable i n sources s o t hat the c ondition or accordance with t he pe riod of s tudy, situation of h istorical e xistence a nd for e xamples, di aries, c orrespondences, occurrence can be known exactly. and c ongress r eports f or c olonial The mo st imp ortant e lements period of Myanmar. However, mapping to create h istorical maps ar e ( 1) with excavated ancient objects would mappable sources, (2) mappable data, be seen rarely for which we can show and ( 3) m appable themes, w hich are a map l ike “M yay p on P haya T wei- initially needed to find out. The map shi yar A yat” [Locations w here resulted f rom ba sing on t hese Votive-tablets f ound]. As s uch, for elements mu st b e th e o ne th at ma y the h istorical ev ents and f acts that contribute a nd be effective t o the come f rom va rious ki nds of s ources subject under study. If it were so, it is and di verse c ontents of s ubject needed to s olve t hese que stions t hat matters, cr eated h istorical ma ps may how a h istorical map can be revealed be in va rious f orms a nd s tyles. I t by using w hich ki nds of s ource a nd means that a f loor plan or c on- data, and that what kinds of event or struction s tructure of a bui lding m ay subject m atter ar e g oing t o be be a m ap as w ell as pictures mapped with which way. sketching periodic marching routes of The aim of historical mapping military cam paigns can b e f ound as method is to r eveal s patial e lements historical ma ps. However, it is as w ell a s to s tate h istorical events, needed t o de cide t hat w hat ki nds of facts, s tates an d act s t ogether w ith sources and data should be mapped as historical maps. 67 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014

Besides, w e have t o specially searched and mapped if the outcomes think that what kind of subject matter can support both the field under study ought to be s elected t o pe rform and history. mapping p rocess. B ecause al l the For a r esearch p rocess, s ources subject ma tters contained in the are important as w ell as d ata ar e source c annot be t otally neither crucial. D ata can be a vailable bot h mappable nor w orthy of mapping. from primary s ources a nd fro m Nevertheless, i f t here w ill be secondary s ources t o cr eate a histo- effective an d b eneficial f or t he rical m ap. H owever, one s hould not subject by s o doi ng, i t s hould be extract mappable data from the later. carried out. As an instance, there is a This fact can be said as a defect point source describing about the fortresses of t he hi storical m apping m ethod. of t he K ingdom of A va i n ancient Mappable data that are extracted only Myanmar, w ritten by a westerner from primary sources will deserve to called M . M ontmorency i n 1827.I n be used doubt lessly a nd r eliably i n that r ecord, s uch a s t he c ubic historical reconstruction and research. measurement of fortifications in high, Even m aps t hat ar e m ade w ith d ata depth a nd l ength a nd de gree and directly ex tracted from p rimary sources angle o f ear th b ankers h ave b een should not be r egarded a s primary mentioned a long w ith construction historical ma ps; b ut can onl y be methods.Therefore, a hi storical map considered as s econdary historical can be m apped by ex tracting d ata maps. B ecause, on t he ot her ha nd, from that contemporary record. Then, there has already been original histo- we can g et a chance t o co mpare t he rical maps i .e. p rimary m ap s ources created map w ith other s ources an d as a ki nd of m ain m ap group. When practical m easurements done in f ield we cat egorize s econdary h istorical research, an d b ecome aw are o f the maps in a sense that with which type construction system of the respective of d ata t hey can b e made, w e get period, pa rtially. M oreover, w e c an following sets of mappable data. also c heck w hether t he mentioned facts ar e r ight or w rong, an d search 1. Data that can be classified similarities and differences. Hence, it 2. Data that can be integrated or can easily be guessed that what kind organized of m ap w ould be f or a bove 3. Data that can be compared mentioned source. If we can describe 4. Data that can be constructed the popul ation di ffusions r ates and 5. Data that can be measured condition of a ncient t owns, vi llages 6. Data that has something and administrative u nits in a mix ed movement form of c omparisons a nd m aps by 7. Data that has something using sittans ,it will certainly contribute progress or retrogress to local hi stories. T herefore, s uch kind of m appable s ources m ust be 68 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014

Therefore, de pending on the Similarly, if w e e valuate the source and data types us ed, ‘themes’ usefulness a nd be nefits of hi storical of m aps w ill be di fferent variously, mapping method f or hi story a nd and also will be in limited condition. historical r esearch, w e will f ind that the mapping of w hat di d ha ppen, exist, o r act at w hich place i n what ITS USEFULNESS AND BENEFITS period of time with collected research sources and r esearch d ata can g ive By studying t he f acts a nd more obvi ous a nd understandable maps mentioned above, it is obvious benefit when studying some kinds of that h istorical ma pping me thod is a theme. Whence some useful conclusions research m ethod t hat can stand can be l aid dow n and a lso ne w independently, and t hat i t i s a lways interpretations can b e r evealed f rom based on ( 1) mappable s ources, (2) different poi nts of vi ew. Another mappable data, and (3) i t has al ways benefit i s t hat w e c an know and a theme, ( 4) ab ility to s ee t he d ata criticize easily w hat b ecome d eveloped visually, a nd ( 5) a bility t o c ompare and w hat become d eteriorated by with the r esults of o ther r esearch comparing hi storical m aps of the methods together w ith (6) a bility to different pe riods unde r t he s ame integrate w ith o ther r esearch method theme as well as we can reveal fuller as i ts unique ch aracteristic features. perspective o f a h istorical ev ent or Because of t he facts t hat it can b e condition by or ganizing historical compared w ith and used by i ntegrating maps of t he s ame pe riod unde r with other r esearch m ethods, t he different themes. M oreover, t he historical mapping method represents outcomes of t he us ing of hi storical a b roader s ense. Therefore, i t i s a mapping method, i .e. maps or ot her kind of r esearch m ethod c apable of kinds of figure, can be compared with using w idely not onl y i n hi storical other similar sources and data if they research but also in other disciplinary are available s o t hat w e can g et a fields of research. Moreover, it can be chance t o test w hether they ar e right said that it is also a useful method for or wrong, a nd t ruthful or unt ruthful. teaching a nd l earning e nvirons. For If the resulting map is wrong we can instance, if one uses curriculum texts, criticize and r eject i t by ope ning a in t eaching and l earning history, new field of research discussion. together w ith vi sual m aps t hat have been created b y u sing h istorical mapping m ethod i t would be easier than ever for the teacher as well as it IT’S IMPORTANCE IN DOING can get m ore cl ear an d u nderstandable HISTORICAL RESEARCH benefits f or t he l earners t hrough If w e claim th at h istorical which r eflective and pr ofound thinking mapping method is very important in skill can be improved. historical r esearch, w e will h ave t o

69 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 prove t hat h ypothetical statement. In such kind of themes should be termed research context there are three main as m appable t hemes. T herefore, b y reasons f or t he i mportance of seeing and examining t he f acts historical mapping method. They are mentioned it is obvious that sources, not exotic things but already mentioned data and t hemes t hemselves are v ery fundamentals: because o f t he source, important f or hi storical research. T o because o f t he d ata, an d b ecause o f contribute t o t he hi story with s uch the theme. important mappable sources, data and themes, we have to use the historical (1) The importance caused by mapping method. the s ource i s t hat be cause s ome sources ar e b eing n eeded t o b e mapped t o b ecome hi storical m aps. This me ans th at there i s a c ondition PROVING: PRACTICAL MAPPING that s ource i tself p aves a w ay t o b e When w e s earch mappable mapped. S uch ki nds of s ources a re sources, data and themes, in order to certain mappable sources. draw hi storical m aps by us ing historical mapping method, we come (2) The importance caused by to f ind a num ber of hi storical the d ata i s t hat b ecause s ome d ata evidences that c an c ontribute t o contained i n m appable s ources a re Myanmar history. N ow, w e will the ones that will surely provide and continue to make a practical mapping support hi story a nd hi storical research using with m appable da ta. T he if t hey were m apped i n t he f orm of selected source h ere is a p alm-leaf historical m aps. S uch kind of da ta manuscript titled “Sihol Yauk Yodaya will not be effective if they remained Phone-tawgyi Ssara Lanka ei unchanged (unused) from their original Sasana-pyu Kha-yi Thwar Hmat- form i .e. t he d ata t hemselves. tam”. Among the mappable data that Actually, t his i s a p rocess o r an contain i n t his s ource, t extual attempt of m apmaking by s earching description of t he l ocation of mappable data in order to delineate a Sirivattaka, th e th en c apital o f S ri map. Lanka, was a lso de scribed by t he (3) T he i mportance cau se b y author. We can d raw at l east t wo o r the t heme i s t hat b ecause s ome three r oute m aps f rom t his r are themes a re not e nough to s tate onl y source. I f w e c onvert t his textual with regular textual descriptions. This information into a f orm of m ap w e means that the theme that one wishes will get a r eligious a nd political to pr esent i s i n t he c ondition t hat i t location map a s s tated be low. S uch will be m ore understandable when i t kind of m ap, t herefore, c an be can be seen visually. In other words, regarded a s t he one dr awn by using there is a s ituation in w hich th eme mappable data. itself requests for mapmaking. Therefore,

70 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014

Therefore, i t is obv ious that mapping m ethod w ill de pend on the historical m apping m ethod i s useful scholar and field he studies. Therefore, and vital f or hi story a nd hi storical we w ill not be a ble to m easure how research. However, t he us efulness a nd much e xtent t hey ha ve us efulness a nd importance of the hi storical maps value. resulted from the using of historical

Figure 6. A Non-readymade Secondary Historical Map Drawn by Basing on a Mappable Palm-leaf Manuscript of a Missionary Record of a Myanmar-Thai Buddhist Monk in 1787.

COMMENTS ON THE METHOD by one. Because of the fact that some AND JUDGMENTS maps de lineated by a ki nd of s ource When w e s tudy t he hi storical may be incorrect if we compare them map dr awn a bove, i.e. t he r esult of with other s ources it w ill b ecome historical mapping m ethod, i t be comes necessary t o ch eck the m ap(s) stated obvious that t here c an g et va rious in the research. As a w rong history is benefits by us ing t hat m ethod. T he needed to b e em end, w e can o pen a maps that w ere d elineated an d new field o f r esearch b y t his w ay o f represented by us ing di fferent ki nds checking a nd c omparing m aps with of s ources, c an be di scussed and other available sources. criticized comparing with other maps Another pe rfect poi nt of of the s ame t heme or ot her s ources. historical ma pping me thod is that Then w e can examine w hether the relationships b etween v ariable data outcome maps are right or wrong and included on t he m ap c an be e asily correct or incorrect by comparing one overviewed. T his i s s omewhat like 71 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 other research m ethods as s tatistic related subject. T herefore, i t i s espe- methods f rom which a more cially n eeded t o ch eck t he sources understandable oppor tunity or positive and data before doing a mapping. The and perfect point may appear. Again, source a nd da ta m ust be trustworthy conclusions can be laid down as well primary source and data. as n ew i nterpretations can b e revealed Another f act t hat s hould be from d ifferent p oints of a spect after viewing t he out come m ap(s) overall. noticed is that the historical mapping Because it should not end the task as method c annot be a pplied w ithout soon as after delineating a map and it mappable s ources, data, an d t hemes. does not adequate by describing map Even w hen t hey a re a vailable, va lue alone, it in evitably a nd c ertainly of outcome maps will differ d epend- needs new interpretations and conclu- ing on t he m appable s ources, da ta sions. I f it w ere so, de lineating of and t hemes. Again, a lthough t he map by us ing hi storical mapping method would be w orthwhile. A nd research result can be maintained not new interpretations a nd c onclusions only a s i nterpreted na rrative a ccount must be, from various points of view, but a lso a s illu strated map, i t h as a revealed as much as possible s o that limitation that it can be mapped only we w ill b e a ble to f ulfill historical within t he f avor of t he m appable knowledge, g aps, and ne eds. Again, sources an d d ata. In p ractice, i t i s the d elineated m aps can al so be very rare to find an ‘easily’ mappable maintained as database m aps for further applications as required. source and to get mappable data; it is needed t o read and s earch s ources However, there are also some and data thoroughly and ex tensively. facts to be taken not ice of i n us ing historical m apping m ethod. The Therefore, i t m ust be i nvested m uch frequent us e of t hat m ethod in a time. single r esearch w ork would not be The ne xt factor t hat should suitable. It s hould be us ed onl y f or also be n oticed is th at a h istorical the t heme t hat c an c ontribute t o t he map can n ever b e d elineated w ith historical research, and that should be secondary s ources. M aps s hould not certainly a nd i nevitably presented. be m apped by using i ncorrect and One i mportant f actor i s possible doubtful s ources a s w ell a s by u sing incorrectness of the sources and data secondary sources. All these facts are to be used. It is very important not to to be not iced w hen historical delineate a m ap f rom uncertain, mapping m ethod i s i ntended t o be incorrect and infirm sources and data. applied. If it i s h appened t o d elineate a m ap using i ncorrect s ource and da ta, it Apart from h istorical r esearch, would be a da ngerous out come for also in ot her f ield of di sciplinary

72 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 research s uch as s ocial s ciences, method in other fields of subject. For natural sciences, applied sciences, life example, w e usually f ind concept sciences, hi storical m apping method mapping (see be low) or mindmapping should be and can be used in different in sciences an d many o ther s ubjects forms. As mentioned above, as broad as w ell as l anguage maps i n some in scope the definition of map is as it sociological s tudies. T herefore, the can be us ed extensively i n va rious method may b e cal led as a k ind o f disciplinal researches. We have many interdisciplinary u sable r esearch me- evidences of us ing ( historical) m apping thod.

Figure 7. A Concept Map That Explains About What the Concept Maps Are.

CONCLUSION to be r ecognized f ormally and legitimately as “a n ew research Although such presentation of method” i n r esearch methodology. If research using m aps h ave al ready there ar e ( 1) m appable s ources and been in va rious fields o f research, data, (2) t he t heme s hould be there has never been described such a delineated as a map, and (3) it would kind of m apping m ethod, ba sing be b etter if h istorical ma pping mappable sources a nd da ta, i n method i s used, t hen the m ethod research m ethodological w orks as a ought to be applied in any subject or certain r esearch method. A ccording any f ield of r esearch. Especially, to i ts us efulness a nd i mportance, historians s hould us e t he m ethod historical ma pping me thod de serves 73 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 because the m ore t hey can d elineate Hla Way, Thet Lwin, and Myo Thant historical maps, historical knowledge, Tyn (2002), Research Methods gaps an d n eeds m ay b ecome f uller in Arts and Sciences, Yangon, and fuller. The Universities’ Press, First Edition. http://academic.emporia.edu/ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS aberjame/map/h_map/h_map.ht I w ould l ike t o acknowledge m. (January 21, 2009) my ve ry s pecial i ndebtedness t o the http://ardictionary.com/Map/1496, Korea Foundation f or A dvanced (January, 19, 2009) Studies as t his r esearch p aper i s a http://dictionary.reference.com/search summarized version of a part of m y ?db=dictionary&q=map , advanced r esearch w ork done i n the (January 21, 2009) Republic of Korea in 2008-2009 with http://en.wikipedia. the f inancial s upport of t he org/wiki/Research#Etymology, foundation. I a m greatly i ndebted to (September 25, 2008) my greatest b enefactor b eloved http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki mother Daw Tin Tin Win, my father /Research#Etymology U Kyaw Kyaw, aunty Daw Yin Yin, (September 25, 2008) younger sister Daw Yamin Kyaw and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map my beloved wife Daw Thu Zar Thant (January 19, 2009) for their help and support. My sincere http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research thanks also g o t o R ector D r K hin #Etymology (September 25, Maung Oo and Pro-rector Dr Maung 2008) Maung Naing of Yadanabon Univer- http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss/M sity as w ell as t he s cholars an d aps/ThematicMaps/population/ organizers w ho pa rticipated i n the National/pop_chg_3d_colour_e 10th International Conference named .jpg ,(February 12, 2009). “Inter-University C ooperation Programme, http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss/Maps/ ASEAN C ommunity Knowledge ThematicMaps/pop_dist_e.cfm Networks f or the Economy, S ociety, http://learning center.unc.edu/ Culture, and Environmental Stability.” Resources/Handouts/concept_ mapping_s.jpg , (February 12, 2009) BIBLIOGRAPHY http://learningcenter.unc.edu/Resourc es/Handouts/concept_mapping_ Berg, Bruce L. (1998), Qualitative s.jpg , (February 12, 2009). Research Methods for the http://linguistics.byu.edu/faculty/henr Social Sciences, Boston, Allyn ichsenl/researchmethods/RM_1 and Bacon, Third Edition, _01.html , (September 25, Harvey, G.E. (1925), History of 2008) Burma, London, n.p. 74 Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2014 http://serc.carleton.edu/images/NAG Montmorency, M.(Autumn TWorkshops/assess/earth_as_a 2005),“Account of the _syst.jpg , (February 12, 2009) Fortifications at Ava in 1827”, http://sociology.camden.rutgers.edu/j SOAS Bulletin of Burma fm/tutorial/main. htm,(October Research, Vol.3, No.2. 13, 2008) Nakkhat- Pya Set-wai Pon (Par), http://users.edte.utwente.nl/lanzing/c Parabaik Manuscript, CML m_home.htm (February 12, Collection, No. 117. 2009) Pe Maung Tin and G.H. Luce(1960), http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_t The Glass Palace Chronicle of he_meaning_of_map_and_glob the Kings of Burma, Rangoon, e , (January, 19, 2009) Rangoon University Press. http://www.allcountries.org/maps/wo Phayre, A.P.(1853), History of rld_language_maps.html , Burma, n.p. (January 29, 2009) Simmons, J.L. and George J. McCall http://www.answers.com/topic/metho (©1985), Social Research, The dology (January 3, 2009) Craft of Finding Out, New http://www.answers.com/topic/metho York, Macmillan Publishing dology (January 3, 2009) Company. http://www.phil.unipassau.de/histhw/ Than Tun (1965), “The Story of tutcarto/english/index-frames Burma told in Pictures”, en.html; Rangoon, Working Peoples’ http://www.smartdraw.com ; Daily, Sunday Supplement. http://www.goldensoftware.co Than Tun (2005), Myanmar m, (January 27,2009) Thamaing Myay-pon mya, http://www.southalabama.edu/coe/bs Yangon, The University Press. et /johnson/ Thone-se Ta Bon Tha-yoke Phaw dr_johnson/2lectures.htm , Pon, Parabaik Manuscript, (October 13, 2008) UCL Collection, No. 180266. Johnson, Burke and Larry Tin Naing Win, Dr. (2009), The Christensen (2008), Importance of Historical Educational Research: Mapping Method in Historical Quantitative, Qualitative, and Research: A Study on Mixed Approaches, Los Myanmar Historical Maps as Angeles: Sage Publications. Illustrated in Parabaik Life at war, 서울 : 한국일보 타임- Manuscripts and Other Sources, research work done in the 라이프, 1977. Republic of Korea under the Maung Htin Aung (1967), A History financial support of the Korea of Burma, New York, Foundation for Advanced Columbia University Press. Studies.

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Trager, F.N. and William J Koenig (1979), Burmese Sit-tans 1764- 1826, Records of Rural Life and Administration, Trans. by William J Koenig, Arizona, The University of Arizona Press.