Choose a research topic you can live with

What advice helps when choosing a historical research topic?

Pick a subject you enjoy and can remain committed to, because a long project will test that interest before it is finished.

Topic selection determines whether a long research project remains manageable. Start with a subject you genuinely want to study, then choose one you can stay committed to after the novelty wears off. The warning comes from completing a doctorate in naval aviation and then avoiding the subject for about a year. Endurance therefore belongs beside evidence and argument as a practical part of historical research.