On the previous page, we discussed how vocabulary has changed over time, and how these vocabulary differences can affect the results we get while searching for historical primary sources online.

In addition to making your search process quicker and easier, though, being informed about historical ways of speaking is important for your reputation as a scholar. Failure to research properly comes with consequences. Open up this Twitter thread in a new tab and read it through. A prominent author makes a false claim about abortion advertisements in 19th century American newspapers.

As you'll read in the thread, the author searched for abortion advertisements in the newspapers using our modern terminology, words like "abortion" and "birth control." Although the concepts behind the words are the same, these words themselves didn't exist for people living in the time she was researching. When she didn't get any results for "abortion advertisements," then, she interpreted the lack of results as lack of advertisements - and this wasn't the case! As the thread explains, 19th century women would have referred to abortions as "ridding an obstruction," and a search for that term brings up plenty of results.

If you aren't sure of the right historical terminology to use, a simple Google search can be helpful.