Hey, I'm mainly interested in Biblical Studies but figured this may also be a good place to ask because learning to research and write a History Research Paper would probably help with with Biblical Studies too. So are their any courses that are really good at refining those skills for lay people. The most advanced class I've done is AP College Writing and Journalism, and I still am waiting to get my GED so a lot of college courses aren't going to be available to me. Any programs that you think would help me? I just want to mainly do research and write papers as a hobby and nothing else. I'm also willing to pay for the program in fact I'm expecting to pay for the program.
Can I suggest some books? Booth's The Craft of Research is a great introduction to research in history and will take you (exhaustively!) through the process of finding a topic, developing an argument, and writing a paper. Booth et al., The Craft of Research, 4th edition (University of Chicago Press, 2016). Although the latest edition is the most up-to-date, you can get an earlier edition online for very cheap.
If you're more interested in the nuts and bolts of historical theory and how historians read sources, I would recommend Martha Howell and Walter Prevenier, From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods (Cornell, 2001). Again, very cheap online.
Best of luck! Welcome to the ranks of those who really care about the past and want to tell other people about it.
/u/sunagainstgold and /u/commustar and /u/caffarelli (among many others) helped with a series of posts on this topic:
The Easter Egg Hunt for Sources, as well as:
I have previously answered As historians, how do you find sources and put them into context when writing a book?, which may be of interest.