Abstract: 【Purpose/significance】Understanding the application and new developments of research methods in archival science and promoting the construction of the research methodology system are beneficial for the in-depth development of the discipline of informa⁃ tion resources management.【Method/process】This study takes 2,540 papers published between 2013 and 2022 in "Archives Science Bulletin" and "Archives Science Study" as the sample. Three researchers manually labeled the research methods and applied content analysis method to analyze the frequency and the evolutionary trends of applied research methods.【Result/conclusion】Over the past decade, research on archival science from the perspective of research methods has exhibited new characteristics: mature research methods have "established a solid foundation", but there’s a lack of systematic understanding of research methods; the application of quantitative research methods has significantly increased, but still partly relies on rational thinking method; the awareness of the col⁃ laborative application of research methods has formed, but the practical application needs to be strengthened. In the future, we can start from the two dimensions of conservatism and innovation to enhance the creativity and integration of research method applications in archival science research.【Innovation/limitation】Research methodology system has been constructed, and the changes in the appli⁃ cation of research methods in the two journals over the past decade have been statistically analyzed. However, the scope of sample se⁃ lection still needs to be further expanded.