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[[Identify What You Know|''Previous page'']] | [[Identify What You Know|''Previous page'']] | ||
'''Step 2: Decide what you want to learn.''' | = '''Step 2: Decide what you want to learn.''' = | ||
Nothing is more important to the research process than deciding what you want to learn. What you want to accomplish may vary, but usually, building up to it with well-documented research will help. It is not practical to thoroughly document <u>all</u> information on <u>all</u> of your lines by yourself. So thoughtfully select a few families of greatest interest to you. Do the genealogical research on those families and do it really well. Have faith that in time someone else will research the families you could not, and join their work with yours through programs like New FamilySearch. | Nothing is more important to the research process than deciding what you want to learn. What you want to accomplish may vary, but usually, building up to it with well-documented research will help. It is not practical to thoroughly document <u>all</u> information on <u>all</u> of your lines by yourself. So thoughtfully select a few families of greatest interest to you. Do the genealogical research on those families and do it really well. Have faith that in time someone else will research the families you could not, and join their work with yours through programs like New FamilySearch. | ||
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= '''Select One Goal-Family to Research at a Time''' = | = '''Select One Goal-Family to Research at a Time''' = | ||
Research is usually more successful when you work on an entire family group (father, mother and all children). Important clues about an individual are found in his relationships to his family. Community and family context helps us correlate and corroborate data, or reveals inconsistencies. Often it is only by learning about brothers or sisters that you can prove parentage. Experienced genealogists recognize the importance of completing work on an entire family before moving to a different family. It may even help to work on clusters of families that married into each other. | Research is usually more successful when you work on an entire family group (father, mother and all children). Important clues about an individual are found in his relationships to his family. Community and family context helps us correlate and corroborate data, or reveals inconsistencies. Often it is only by learning about brothers or sisters that you can prove parentage. Experienced genealogists recognize the importance of completing work on an entire family before moving to a different family. It may even help to work on clusters of families that married into each other. | ||
If researching two or more families would move you toward your overall quest, start with the family that is already the best documented and has the most complete event places and dates. Leave the families with less well documented events, or events with vague places or dates until later. | If researching two or more families would move you toward your overall quest, start with the family that is already the best documented and has the most complete event places and dates. Leave the families with less well documented events, or events with vague places or dates until later. | ||
A good research goal is to complete genealogical research and document each event on a selected family group record. | A good research goal is to complete genealogical research and document each event on a selected family group record. | ||
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== '''Helpful Guessing Skills''' == | == '''Helpful Guessing Skills''' == | ||
To find useful source documents, a researcher needs to be good at [[How to Guess Where to Start|guessing where to start]]. Each of the following involves being able to guess some '''''additional''''' information based on what is already shown on a family group record:<br>1. [[Guessing a Name Variation]] for every name on that family group.<br> 2. [[Guessing a Place]] for every event on that family group.<br> 3. [[Guessing a Date]] for every event on that family group. <br> 4. [[Guessing the Easiest to Research Person and Event]] on that family group. <br> 5. [[Guessing a Record Type to Use]] for finding information about any person’s event on that family group.<br> <!--{ | To find useful source documents, a researcher needs to be good at [[How to Guess Where to Start|guessing where to start]]. Each of the following involves being able to guess some '''''additional''''' information based on what is already shown on a family group record:<br>1. [[Guessing a Name Variation]] for every name on that family group.<br> 2. [[Guessing a Place]] for every event on that family group.<br> 3. [[Guessing a Date]] for every event on that family group. <br> 4. [[Guessing the Easiest to Research Person and Event]] on that family group. <br> 5. [[Guessing a Record Type to Use]] for finding information about any person’s event on that family group.<br> <!--{12077658930780} --> <!--{12077658930781} --> <!--{12077658930782} --> <!--{12077658930783} --> | ||
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== '''Using a Research Log''' == | == '''Using a Research Log''' == | ||
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* '''''Notes about your strategies, analysis, discrepancies, and questions.''''' Logs should be more than just a list of sources. Make your research logs as well the journals of your genealogical thinking and ideas. | * '''''Notes about your strategies, analysis, discrepancies, and questions.''''' Logs should be more than just a list of sources. Make your research logs as well the journals of your genealogical thinking and ideas. | ||
<br> [[Select Records to Search|Next page]] <!--{ | <br> [[Select Records to Search|Next page]] <!--{12077658930784} --> <!--{12077658930785} --> <!--{12077658930786} --> <!--{12077658930787} --> <!--{12077658930788} --> <!--{12077658930789} --> <!--{120776589307810} --> <!--{120776589307811} --> <!--{120776589307812} --> <!--{120776589307813} --> <!--{120776589307814} --> <!--{120776589307815} --> <!--{120776589307816} --> <!--{120776589307817} --> | ||
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