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3. '''''Focus on one question at a time.''''' Pick ONE event (for example, John Doe’s birth) and search until you find it. Stick with it. Gather anything you find on the family and associates, but concentrate on the event you selected. Do not change focus until you either find it or exhaust '''all''' possibilities trying. | 3. '''''Focus on one question at a time.''''' Pick ONE event (for example, John Doe’s birth) and search until you find it. Stick with it. Gather anything you find on the family and associates, but concentrate on the event you selected. Do not change focus until you either find it or exhaust '''all''' possibilities trying. | ||
4. '''''Look for alternate spellings and nicknames.''''' Some ancestors are listed by nicknames (Polly for Mary, Bob for Robert), by a middle name, or by initials. See [[Guessing a Name Variation]]. Also search for alternate spellings. Clerks misspell names all the time, and indexers have difficulty reading them. Think phonetically. For lists of possible spelling substitutes see pages 331 and 336 of Kory L. Meyerink, ed., ''Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records''. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1998). ({{FSC|719674|item|disp=FS | 4. '''''Look for alternate spellings and nicknames.''''' Some ancestors are listed by nicknames (Polly for Mary, Bob for Robert), by a middle name, or by initials. See [[Guessing a Name Variation]]. Also search for alternate spellings. Clerks misspell names all the time, and indexers have difficulty reading them. Think phonetically. For lists of possible spelling substitutes see pages 331 and 336 of Kory L. Meyerink, ed., ''Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records''. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1998). ({{FSC|719674|item|disp=FS Catalog book 016.9293 P96m}}). Failure to find some quirky versions of the individual's name is a red flag that you probably are not being imaginative enough during your searches. | ||
5. '''''Do not trust indexes''''' ''(that do not answer the main question)''. If he '''should be''' in the index but '''is not''', search the record page-by-page until you find him. Even if you do find him in the index, thumb through the records for places they missed him in the index until you answer the research question.<ref>Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Land Records" (lecture in Course 4 Advanced Methodology Evidence, Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University, Birmingham, Ala., 15 June 2005).</ref> | 5. '''''Do not trust indexes''''' ''(that do not answer the main question)''. If he '''should be''' in the index but '''is not''', search the record page-by-page until you find him. Even if you do find him in the index, thumb through the records for places they missed him in the index until you answer the research question.<ref>Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Land Records" (lecture in Course 4 Advanced Methodology Evidence, Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University, Birmingham, Ala., 15 June 2005).</ref> | ||
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21. '''''Area searches.''''' Look in neighboring counties or towns. Conduct an area search of surrounding towns and counties within 5, 10, or 25 miles of the place where they lived. Gradually expand distances searched. | 21. '''''Area searches.''''' Look in neighboring counties or towns. Conduct an area search of surrounding towns and counties within 5, 10, or 25 miles of the place where they lived. Gradually expand distances searched. | ||
22. '''''Try an exhaustive preliminary survey.''''' Look in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/list ''International Genealogical Index''], [https://www.familysearch.org/#form=trees ''Ancestral File''], and [https://www.familysearch.org/#form=trees <u> </u>''Pedigree Resource File'']. Thoroughly search for John Doe’s family in ''every'' source in [[United States Compiled Genealogies]] and [[United States Biography|United States Biography]] and in Wiki article for John Doe’s state. Look up the family name in the appropriate “Regional Indexes” cited on pages 440-41 in the first edition of Arlene Eakle and Johni Cerny’s | 22. '''''Try an exhaustive preliminary survey.''''' Look in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/list ''International Genealogical Index''], [https://www.familysearch.org/#form=trees ''Ancestral File''], and [https://www.familysearch.org/#form=trees <u> </u>''Pedigree Resource File'']. Thoroughly search for John Doe’s family in ''every'' source in [[United States Compiled Genealogies]] and [[United States Biography|United States Biography]] and in Wiki article for John Doe’s state. Look up the family name in the appropriate “Regional Indexes” cited on pages 440-41 in the first edition of Arlene Eakle and Johni Cerny’s {{FSC|226731|item|disp=''The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy''}} (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1984). [FS Library book 973 D27ts]. | ||
23. '''''Search more libraries and archives.''''' Research the local county and state historical and genealogical societies, state library, law library, archives, government documents library, and National Archives. | 23. '''''Search more libraries and archives.''''' Research the local county and state historical and genealogical societies, state library, law library, archives, government documents library, and National Archives. | ||
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