Research into ego-documents has being going on around the world for several decades, especially in continental Europe. The Dutch historian Jacques Presser, the inventor of the term, used “ego-document” to refer to materials such as diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, and personal letters. The term was first used in the English language by Peter Burke. Some groups of historians, such as the one in Berlin under the leadership of Claudia Ulbrich, prefer to use the term “self-narrative” instead. Kaspar von Greyerz, leader of the Basel team and a leading critic, considers the term “ego-document” an unfortunate one on account of its connotation of Sigmund Freud's concept of ego. He claims that early modern material does not reflect the inner psychological state of the writer but rather the formal, outward facade. Artificial periodization prevents us from understanding the nature and intellectual heritage of the human being. The question is, “What changed with the transition from premodern to modern when suddenly characters started to see themselves as historical figures worth talking about?”

对自我文件的研究已经在世界各地进行了几十年，尤其是在欧洲大陆。该术语的发明者、荷兰历史学家雅克·普雷瑟（Jacques Presser）使用“自我文件”来指代诸如日记、回忆录、自传和私人信件等材料。这个词最早是由彼得伯克在英语中使用的。一些历史学家团体，例如在克劳迪娅·乌布里希 (Claudia Ulbrich) 领导下的柏林历史学家团体，更喜欢使用“自我叙述”一词。巴塞尔团队的领导者和主要评论家卡斯帕·冯·格雷耶兹认为“自我文件”一词是不幸的，因为它包含了西格蒙德·弗洛伊德的自我概念。他声称，早期现代材料并不反映作家的内在心理状态，而是反映了正式的、外在的外表。人为分期阻止我们了解人类的本性和智力遗产。问题是，“当人物突然开始将自己视为值得谈论的历史人物时，从前现代到现代的转变发生了什么变化？”