The first thing is to decide what you are interested in. It could be the story of the road where you live, your neighbourhood or village - how it has changed over time and how people have interacted with their locality to make it what it is today.

Or it could be one particular aspect of the area's history - how your community was affected by the coming of a canal or railway, or what happened to it during the First or Second World Wars, for example.

Next, arm yourself with a really good book or two to help you in your research. The newly-published Reader's Digest Local History Detective is a lively and easy-to-use introduction which would, incidentally, make a great gift for anyone thinking about starting out on local history.

Before you go further, find out what has already been discovered. If you have access to the Internet many communities now have excellent websites which include a local history section. There are also more than 60 local history societies in Oxfordshire.

It is worth joining your local society as they can put you in touch with people in your area with whom you can exchange information and ideas. They may even have a list of potential research topics, or on-going projects which you could join in on.

Carrying out research in a group is a great way to maximise enjoyment and productivity but, even if you prefer to work alone, it is always good to know people who can offer help and advice.

Museums large and small are a great source of information, and staff may be able to suggest a subject that is in need of research.

Once you have decided on your topic, have a walk around the area with a camera and a notebook. Take photographs, make sketches, and write down any questions that occur to you as you look really carefully at the buildings and landscape.

Have a good look at the church, the old school building, the pub and any other properties where trades might have been carried out (street and house names can give clues). Study the layout of the fields and the walls, hedges or ditches that separate them.

Talk to people that you meet about what you're doing, and ask questions - a snippet of information from a local resident about an old building or a grassed-over embankment might well lead you down an exciting new path of investigation.

Next, find out what information is available to help you in your research. There are numerous websites aimed at local historians and you can find a huge range of Oxfordshire materials through the County Council's Heritage Search.

We are also blessed with an excellent County Record Office at the Central Library, Westgate, Oxford and one of the best local studies libraries in the country. Both contain an extraordinary wealth of information, the sheer volume of which can seem daunting at first.

Luckily, help is at hand: there are catalogues and indexes, the County Record Office and the local studies library both produce leaflets outlining the sources they hold and how to use them.

The staff at both centres are not only knowledgeable but also endlessly helpful and patient.

A good place to start your search is with books and journals.

The Victoria County History (featured in the last issue of Oxfordshire Limited Editon) should be your first port of call. It provides an authoritative history of your area, plus lots of useful footnote references which will point you to original documents.

At the local studies library you'll also find reference books and local history journals to help you with your research. An example is Oxoniensia which is a goldmine of information, containing articles on the history and topography of both city and county, surveys of buildings and excavation reports.

The Internet, books and journals are all great tools for local history research, but there is nothing quite like the feel of history' that you get when opening and reading the pages of a letter, a workhouse inventory, or a house plan drawn up by someone who once lived in your area.

Tracking down and examining original documents is likely to be one of the most exciting and satisfying aspects of your research.

At the County Record Office you'll find parish records, some going back as far as the 16th century, warrants for the removal of paupers, records of court cases and Borough charters. There are private letters and diaries, school log books, property deeds, wills and business papers. All these documents, and many more, give fascinating glimpses into the story of your neighbourhood, and all you need to do is to piece that story together.

A systematic approach will save time and help you to get the most out of your research, so always keep a full record of where you found each snippet of information. Some might be best stored in a database or simple spreadsheet - census data, for example, or names from trade and neighbourhood directories and electoral registers.

Remember also that just because something is written down, it doesn't necessarily mean that it happened or that the information is accurate. No single document tells the full story, so you need to look at it critically, and compare it with related material.

This is equally true of other sources that you'll find. The local studies library holds all the Oxfordshire newspapers, from the 1700s onwards, on microfilm. There are indexes of people, buildings and local businesses to help you find the articles that interest you.

They also have more than 400,000 photographs, prints and engravings illustrating people and places of Oxfordshire and neighbouring counties from the 18th century to the present day.

You may also be able to find old photographs from local people - put a request on notice boards, in your church newsletter and in local newspapers.

Maps are a great source of information, as well as being endlessly fascinating to study. By comparing two maps of your area that were drawn up at different points in history you'll get an immediate sense of how things have changed.

Most settlements will have expanded, but some may have contracted or even moved - why? Was there an epidemic? Was common land enclosed by a landlowner? Or did a local industry fail?

At the local studies library you can find copies of county and estate maps from the 16th century, 18th and 19th century enclosure and tithe maps and the earliest Ordnance Survey maps from the 1830s.

There are also later, much larger-scale versions which show individual buildings in great detail. Annotated maps drawn up to show the proposed line of a railway, road or canal also give lots of information about who owned and occupied property, and where.

Maps not only show buildings and features in the landscape but they also give us old names of settlements, hills, rivers, streams and roads, some of which may have fallen out of use many years ago. These can give valuable clues about long-lost farming practices, an ancient route or the seat of a local family.

If you are interested in the recent past, talking to people about their memories of the area is a great way to find information, as well as to involve people in your research.

Everyone has a story to tell about their life which is unique to them, and oral history can be the only way to learn, for example, how hand-tools were used, or how meals were cooked. Approach your family, friends and neighbours first, then appeal for interviewees via a local newspaper or community notice board, or by visiting older people's centres and clubs. The Oral History Society's website gives lots of useful tips, and there is also a large archive of recordings available to listen to at the Oxfordshire studies library or via Heritage Search.

Remember, though, to treat oral history with the same scepticism that you should treat any source - always cross-check with other sources to get a fuller picture.

You may feel that you could carry on researching and peeling back the layers of history for ever, but at some point it's time to pull together your findings and present the results of your hard work - perhaps as a leaflet, an exhibition, an illustrated talk, or even as a special present for a friend or relative.

The Oxfordshire Local History Society is keen to publish articles by amateur local historians in their regular journal, and offer advice and help with writing and editing.

People in your community will almost certainly be delighted and fascinated by your results. Be prepared, though, for your finished' product, to elicit plenty of comments and questions, which will send you off down yet more enjoyable avenues of local history research.

n If you would like to know more about local history research techniques, or about particular aspects of a certain area, there are lots of courses to join in Oxfordshire.

Oxford University's Department of Continuing Education, based at Rewley House, (www.conted.ox.ac.uk/01865 270360) runs one-day and weekend courses, week-long summer schools and weekly day or evening classes. The WEA (www.wea.org.uk/Contact/southern/ 01634 298 600) also runs good-value courses.

USEFUL ADDRESSES Oxfordshire Studies (OS), Central Library, Westgate Oxford OX1 1DJ 01865 815749 E-mail: oxfordshire.studies@oxfordshire.gov.uk Web: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ oxfordshirestudies Oxfordshire Record Office (ORO) St Luke's Church, Temple Road Cowley, Oxford OX4 2HT 01865 398200 E-mail: archives@oxfordshire.gov.uk Web: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/records Oxford Local History Association (OLHA), c/o Telfer's Cottage Turville, Henley-on-Thames RG9 6QL 01491 638396 E-mail: myleshall@aol.com USEFUL WEBSITES Oxfordshire Heritage Search - access to a vast array of original sources www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/heritagesearch Oxfordshire local history groups www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/portal/ publicsite/doitonline/finditonline/ clubssocieties (search for History' in the Subject' box) Victoria County History (VCH) for Oxfordshire www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/ Oxfordshire Oxoniensia - Oxfordshire's journal on local history, architecture and archaeology.

www.oahs.org.uk/online_contents.htm Headington History - an excellent example of a community website with a particularly full and interesting local history section.

www.headington.org.uk/history Old maps of Oxfordshire - reprints of which can be purchased very cheaply.

www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk Access to Archives - catalogues of archives held locally in England and Wales dating from the eighth century to the present day.

www.a2a.org.uk Vision of Britain - maps, social trends over time and historical descriptions, all searchable by postcode or place name.

www.visionofbritain.org.uk Listed buildings in England - 300,000 images of lamp posts, lavatories, phone boxes, toll booths, milestones and gravestones, as well as thousands of bridges, historic houses and churches.

www.imagesofengland.org.uk The Oral History Society - for useful advice on recording and using people's memories of the area www.ohs.org.uk/advice