Principles of Family History Research: Difference between revisions

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</p><p>Genealogical or family history research is the process of searching records to find information about your relatives and using those records to link individuals to earlier and later generations.  

</p><p>This article describes a process for doing genealogical and family history research. In addition to following a process, research includes knowing about the different types of records that have the information you seek. For discussions of specific records to use in your research, see the&#160;"Topics" on this wiki for the country, state or province of interest. You may also find information about records in the genealogical handbooks.  

</p><p>This article is intended for persons who are interested in learning more about family history research. For a brief overview of the research process, see <a _fcknotitle="true" href="A Guide to Research">A Guide to Research</a>.  

<h2> Table of Contents  </h2>

<p><font size="+1"><a href="Identify What You Know">STEP 1: Identify What You Know</a></font>  

<dl><dd>Use Appropriate Forms  

</dd><dd>Recall Information  

</dd><dd>Gather Family Information  

</dd><dd>Gather Low-Hanging-Fruit Sources  

</dd><dd>Record Useful Information  

</dd><dd>Organize Your Records<br><br>

<p><font size="+1"><a href="Decide What You Want to Learn">STEP 2: Decide What You Want to Learn</a></font>  

<dl><dd>Identify Candidate Families for Further Research  

</dd><dd>One Family at a Time  

</dd><dd>One Research Objective at a Time  

</dd><dd>Select the Easiest Research Objective  

</dd><dd>Prepare a Research Log<br><br>

<p><font size="+1"><a href="Select Records to Search">STEP 3: Select Records to Search.</a></font>  

<dl><dd>Identify a Category of Sources  

</dd><dd>Choose a Record Type  

</dd><dd>Select Specific Records  

</dd><dd>Describe the Records on a Research Log<br><br>

<p><font size="+1"><a href="Obtain and Search the Records">STEP 4: Obtain and Search the Records.</a></font>  

<dl><dd>Obtain the Records  

</dd><dd>View the Records  

</dd><dd>Search the Records  

</dd><dd>Record the Results<br><br>

<p><font size="+1"><a href="Use the Information">STEP 5: Evaluate and Use the Information.</a></font>  

<dl><dd>Evaluate the Evidence  

</dd><dd>Transfer the Information  

</dd><dd>Organize the New Records  

</dd><dd>Share the Information  

</dd><dd>Mormon Genealogy  

</dd><dd>Restart the Research Cycle<br><br>

<p><font size="+1"><a href="Principles of Family History Research For Further Reading">For Further Reading</a></font>  

<h2> Using This Article  </h2>

<p>This article explains the basic steps of the research process. Figures illustrate the text while blue boxes provide important background information. Key points (maxims) are highlighted. A short bibliography of books about research methods under “<a href="Principles of Family History Research For Further Reading">For Further Reading</a>” is at the end of this outline. The appendix includes a useful summary diagrams of the research process and record types.  

<h3> See also  </h3>

<ul><li><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Your Genealogical Quest">Your Genealogical Quest</a>

</li><li><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Research Process">Research Process</a>

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<a _fcknotitle="true" href="Category:Research_Process">Research_Process</a> <a _fcknotitle="true" href="Category:Instruction_and_Methodology">Instruction_and_Methodology</a> <a _fcknotitle="true" href="Category:Handbooks,_manuals,_etc.">Handbooks,_manuals,_etc.</a>