史学史以研究历史学的发展过程为主。不同时代中的历史学，反映相异时代的历史观，呈现人类思想史的发展过程。人类历史上各个时代记录的历史，反映了当时人们的思想观念，作者的观察、写作形式、偏见、对历史事件的解读等。由于研究历史的方法在不同时代和不同地域也有相当大的区别，对史学史也不可能有一个非常确切、能被所有人同意的统一定义。

史学史的研究起码要包括两个方面，首先要研究不同时代不同文化条件下，历史学作为一种学术的的发展情况，同时要研究在上述条件下对历史的研究方法、工具等。有的史学家认为史学史只研究历史是如何写成的，而不牵涉任何历史事件，只牵涉到历史学家如何解读这些事件。但实际上已经牵涉但历史事件了。

Historiography is the study of the methodology of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians have studied that topic using particular sources, techniques, and theoretical approaches. Scholars discuss historiography by topic – such as the "Historiography of the United Kingdom", the "Historiography of Canada", "Historiography of the British Empire", the "historiography of early Islam", the "historiography of China – and different approaches and genres, such as political history and social history. Beginning in the nineteenth century, with the ascent of academic history, there developed a body of historiographic literature. The extent to which historians are influenced by their own groups and loyalties – such as to their nation state – is a debated question.