How does bissinger go about researching his subject? In chapter 1-2

The author studies Odessa's history. The town was settled in the 1880’s by a group of men from Zanesville, Ohio. These men had hoped to develop Odessa as a destination town complete with electric trolley cars. Unfortunately, the dry land was useless for either farming or raising livestock. It remained fairly destitute until oil and gas deposits were discovered many years later. As it turned out, Odessa was located in the middle of the Permian Basin, a geologic formation that promised to provide 20 percent of the nation's oil and gas reserves.