Decide What You Want to Learn

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Step 2: Decide what you want to learn.

Nothing is more important to the research process than deciding what you want to learn. Most researchers have a final destination in mind even before they begin research. This is your research quest. However, to achieve your quest, you should divide it into several achievable goals. Goals are achieved by dividing them into specific research objectives and then accomplishing each objective in turn. A research objective is a specific piece of information about one person. See the examples in the following box.

Setting Objectives

This example shows how a quest can lead to goals which in turn lead to research objectives. Goals and objectives may be either genealogical or reference. They may be easy or difficult to achieve. Quest: I want to visit my immigrant ancestor's home town in the old country. Possible Goals: 1. Identify the immigrant on the Pierce line . 2. Complete the family group of the immigrant. 3. Identify Grandfaather Pierce's parents and siblings. This example shows how a quest can lead to goals which in turn lead to research objectives. Goals and objectives may be either genealogical or reference. They may be easy or difficult to achieve. Quest: I want to visit my immigrant ancestor's home town in the old country. Possible Goals: 1. Identify the immigrant on the Pierce line . 2. Complete the family group of the immigrant. 3. Identify Grandfather Pierce's parents and siblings. 4. Understand what it was like to be an immigrant. 5. Learn where the immigrant came from. Possible Objectives for Goal 5: a. What date did the immigrant arrive in America? b. What port did he arrive at? c. Is there a picture of the ship on which he sailed? d. Is he on a ship passenger list? e. When was the immigrant born? f. In what town was he born?

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