Genealogy tip 10—Ancestry research requires Preparation.
Being a history researcher comes with the need to learn and understand how to research records, find the key information and develop a plan that will take you to all available information. Through the years, I have had the pleasure of conducting historical and genealogy research throughout the United States and Europe. Every time I conduct research in a new location, I feel like I have to learn/relearn how to conduct historical research. Why? I need to learn where the records are kept, what is available, develop a plan of how to research this location and so much more. I have written a series of Genealogy Tips to introduce you to what I consider to be the most foundational skills I use over and over. In this article, I want to share Genealogy Tip 10: Genealogy Requires Preparation.
Genealogy Tip Series
Click on an of the following Genealogy Tips to be taken to the article.
Genealogy Tip 10: Ancestry Research Requires Preparation
Genealogy is a skill requiring preparation and planning, detailed and exhaustive research, and careful correlation, analysis, and reporting.
Preparation and planning
Develop a research plan based on analyzing and defining the research problem you seek to resolve. Preparation and planning require that you place the problem in its legal and social context, identify related and associated individuals, and identify relevant resources, tools, and methods and the pros and cons in using those resources.
Detailed and exhaustive research
Use all appropriate finding aids and sources, recognizing that differences exist in each source. To be thorough, examine each record or record set for flaws, quirks, and strengths. As you identify information, create a complete citation, noting the source of information and when you accessed it. Look for clues, placing all new information into a geographic and legal context. You will extract as much relevant information from that source as possible, looking for crucial details that might require an immediate revision of your research plan and marking anything that needs subsequent study. You’ll conduct follow-up research on all family and associates whose records might shed light on the person of interest.
Careful correlation, analysis, and reporting
Correlate all pieces of information that you find—no matter how small—looking for connections and patterns. Summarize your findings and analyze what you’ve learned. Does your analysis warrant a conclusion, or does the information lead you to expand your original plan? Prepare a conclusion or proof statement for ongoing research and reference.
Stay Focused on the Research You Start
Once you have a clear picture of the specific individual, couple, or family group, it’s time to define your objective. Do you want to prove a statement? Do you have a question to answer? Do you have a theory or hypothesis you want to test?
It’s a good idea to create a brief timeline of events for your ancestor to help you determine what questions you still need to answer and what information you hope to find (i.e., date of birth).
At this point, you can build your research plan. This plan identifies what you want to search, where you will search, and what resources you will search.
As you follow the plan you’ve created, keep a research log, which will keep you focused on your goals and help you document where you’ve been and where you want to go.
Remember the Power of One. It’s straightforward to start researching one line of thought, become interested in another, and change direction, all in a few minutes. Soon you’re surrounded by papers, documents, names, dates, and locations and are left with a head full of swirling questions.
You will find your research more productive if you identify your research goals, develop a research plan and focus on their completion. The following are some ideas for keeping your research on track and manageable.
1. Focus on specific sections of your genealogy at a time. This can include
• A specific family line or surname,
• A specific time and place,
• A specific family unit, or
• A specific question to solve.
2. Once you have focused on a specific area to research, create a log to help you develop a big picture of what you have and where you want to go. Keep the log up-to-date; it will save you time and energy. Note when and where you viewed the information. The log can include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Who you have talked to and information provided,
- Information you have found and citations,
- The questions you still seek answers to,
- Thoughts of where to research,
- The answers you have found, and
- Ideas and assumptions you are making and why.
3. Keep a to-do list—a plan for what research you seek to perform. Organize the plan so the most critical research gets done first. Often, when you focus on top priority research, many other items on your list are also completed.
4. Group your to-do items by the source you will use to conduct research.
5. Create a “future research” file. As you conduct your focused research, you will always come up with ideas for research you want to conduct outside the focus of your current line of inquiry. Record it—whether it’s an idea, a paragraph, a printed document, a photocopy, or whatever else—put it in the file, and forget about it until you are done with the task. You can then go through the file at a later date, organize your notes, and start the next task. Don’t be surprised if you begin doubling your accomplishments.
6. Keep track of your progress.
7. Reach out for help as you need it.
8. Suppose you have a hard time finding the time or are spending too much time doing research, schedule time with yourself to conduct your research. Make your appointments start and end on time. There is something about a deadline that helps keep you on track.
See the big picture
While focused research will help keep your genealogy work organized and streamlined, it’s important not to get so focused on finding a single individual or piece of information that we don’t look at extended family, neighbors, and the migration patterns of the entire community. Often the missing person (or piece of information) will pop up in someone else’s family in a completely different geographic location.
Sometimes the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line. There are many instances where researchers come to a dead end on an individual and, through researching related people (siblings, aunts, uncles, etc.), are led back to the individual of interest. Think outside the box. If you’re stuck, find unusual ideas and places to look for information.
Genealogy Is About Questions
Learning begins with a question, and questions and answers are the foundation for exchanging information. We have many ways to learn, but by simply asking questions, we set the stage for learning and sharing what we know.
Narrow the focus of your questions
It is easy to become overwhelmed by the number of questions that need answers. It’s been my experience that the further I go, the more questions I ask.
The key is to identify one person or a few individuals of the same family. You will find your research efforts move forward faster if you focus on one individual and one question at a time. Use your pedigree charts and family group sheets to help you identify those questions. Make a research plan listing the questions you want to research.
What information do you want? It’s not uncommon to read and hear questions from new genealogists who seem to be asking for the responder to answer every question they will ever need now or in the future about a given family line or individual. The questions you ask determine your research path. Know what you want to learn. Know what information you want to find. The following are examples of the questions I have created to guide my research plan development, personal skill development, and research process:
Library Visit
How do I prepare for a library visit? What does the library have that will help me with my genealogy? What is a good book for beginners? How do I do research at a distance? What are some valuable tips for successful genealogical research?
Searching for Information. What records do I search if I want to find birth records?
Death records? Immigration records? Adoption records? Maiden name? City or parish of a foreign country?
Immigration
How do I locate passenger lists? Where do I find information on immigration and naturalization? What is available on the Internet? Where was my ancestor born? His parents? What language did they speak in the home? What language was their newspaper printed in? Did they immigrate? If so, what year? What language did they speak before they came to the United States? What is their status – AL (alien), PA (papered, or applied for citizenship), or NA (naturalized or received citizenship)?
Ancestor Profile
Where was my ancestor born? Was my ancestor married? Single? Widowed? Divorced? Married more than once? Where do I find vital records? Did my ancestors own a home or rent? Was it a farm or a house? Was it mortgaged or owned free and clear? Homesteaded? How much was the mortgage payment or the rent? What was their occupation, profession, or trade? Did they own their own business or employ others? Work for someone else? What was the type of business or trade?
Locating Record Repositories
What resources are available at the local library? The county or regional library? What about in university libraries and archives? State archives? Local, county, or state historical societies? Is there a local, county, or state genealogy society? What is available to you in the homes of family members?
Using Census Records
Which census were enumerations taken during the life of my ancestor? What maps exist for the period my ancestor lived? Where can I find blank census forms to help me record my information?
Ancestors in the Community
Were there relatives in the community where my ancestor resided? With whom did my ancestor do business? Where did his children find their spouses? Was it an ethnic community? If so, what language did they speak at home? When was the community founded? What records were available? What disasters had the community weathered? How had wars affected the community and its records? What churches were in the community? Are records available?
Additional Articles on BeginMyStory.com
The following are other articles you may enjoy to help you find history and genealogy records.
- QuickStart Beginners Guide to Ancestry Research
- Introduction to Ancestry Research and Historical Records
- 7,500-plus Questions About Life to Ask People When Writing Narratives
- 1950 U.S. Census Research Guide for Beginners
- 4 Easy Steps to Google American Ancestry
- Preparing to Easily Google Ancestor Records
- Complete Guide for Conducting Oral History Interviews
- How to Get Great Google Search Results in Ancestry Research
- 9 Advanced Google Search Strategies to Trace Ancestors
- What It’s Like to Start Ancestry Research
- Search sites like FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com
