What is Your Research Why?

I belong to some genealogy groups on various platforms. Recently I read a post by a person that said they were just starting out and was asking if someone could take them under their wing to show them the ropes. I posted a couple of responses offering some small bits of advice. Then I got to thinking, maybe there are others out there who could use “someone who could take them under their wing.”

That is what I hope to do with blog post, to take those who are new to doing genealogy under my virtual wing and offer some guidance in where to start.

One of the first things is to clarify in your own mind the “why” of you want to are setting out on this journey. The “why” will help you figure out what your are searching for and what resources will help you answer the questions that you have about your ancestors.

Does your family have stories about a famous ancestor that you want to prove for the bragging rights?

Does your family have stories about an ancestor who fought in the Civil War? In the Revolutionary War? That were passengers on the Mayflower? Do you want to be able to prove those stories so you can join a lineage society?

Do you just want to build out all your ancestors lines as far as you can because you are just curious about where you came from?

There are a variety of reasons people have for starting this journey. Each reason is valid, but each reason will require different methods and different tools. That is why before even starting having a clear idea of your reasons for research is important.

What is your “Why” for researching your family tree and its unique history?

For those wondering, when I first started my "why" was a general I want to learn more about my family and where I came from.

Where Are You In Your Genealogy Research Journey?

Where are you in your genealogy research journey?

Complete novice? Interested but haven’t actually done any research?

Beginner? Maybe added a couple of names, dates and places; but really not sure what you are doing or what comes next?

Intermediate? You have spent some time doing basic research, but know there are a lot more things you can do to research the people in your tree; however, not real confident of the how and where to look.

Genealogy Buff, like me? You have your tree fairly well developed; confident in the basics and comfortable with other records and methods to flesh out the people beyond names, dates and places. Membership to at least 1 organization/group, and/or a subscription to at least 1 publication. Shelf full of genealogy books. Watch videos and podcasts on the subject. Willing to help others just so you can learn new techniques. Think about becoming a certified genealogist.

Expert/Professional? You have been paid for doing research or teaching a class on some aspect of genealogy/family history and/or are a Certified Genealogist.

Let’s Talk Family History!

Bright Shiny Objects

Bright Shiny Objects (BSO) catch our eye, I think it is human nature. In the Genealogy Do-Over Facebook group I have also heard some people call them rabbit holes. They have the potential to totally distract us from what we are trying to do, IF we let them. The trick is to acknowledge them without letting them divert us from what we are trying to do.

Let's start with an example, then we can talk about some of the ways to acknowledge a BSO without allowing it to get us off track of our current research goal.

Let's say my goal is to research everything I can find on my grandfather Frederick John Newman's WWI military service. My grandfather had a brother, Eric Alexander Newman, who also served in WWI. Both of them were born in England and living in the USA at the time period I am searching. Let's say I am on ancestry.com and I am searching for Frederick Newman in the military records. Chances are Eric's name will also pop up in search results.

It might be tempting to look at both Frederick's and Eric's results. But that isn't the goal for this search, only Frederick's military service is. Chances are if I click on something for Eric I will then see the "you might also be interested it" type of links, then there I go chasing those bright shiny objects relating to my great uncle and totally lose focus. Two hours later I will find that not only have I not found anything about my grandfather but I might not even be looking at things that relate to my great uncle but some distant relative in England!

You might be saying "But what's a person to do when those BSO cross my path?" Let's discuss strategies....

First and foremost, I hope before you start you have a research plan so you know the "Who, What, Where, When, How/Why" of your search. This allows you to focus your search so that you can make real progress, instead of wandering aimlessly through the ancestry website (or the findmypast. familysearch, genealogybank, etc websites).

Second comes some sort of research log.

I have to admit in my past research I have been BAD about this step. I can't tell you how much wasted time this has caused as I repeat searches for things I already have, or repeating searches with parameters that did not produce results instead of trying new parameters. Part of my problem with research logs has always been that those printed versions always seem to have such small boxes there was no way to efficiently use them, at least for me.

Genealogy Do-Over has encouraged me to start experimenting using a spreadsheet for my research log.

A spreadsheet allows me to make the boxes whatever size I need them to be (plus typing tends to take up less space than my handwriting). It also allows me to move columns around until I find a format that works for me WITHOUT losing the data that is already in the database. Plus I can sort by the different columns. Meaning if I want to find all my research on an individual I can sort by name. If I want to see all the vital records I have I can sort by Record Type. If I want to see all the records I have found on Ancestry I can sort by that. All of this without having to rewrite (or retype) lists or losing any information.

One of the benefits of using a spreadsheet program, especially when it comes to those BSO's, is I can have different pages in my document. I can have a page for my research log, or I can have separate pages for the different surnames.

I can also have a page for my to do list. This is where I can list those bright shiny objects. I can put their name as the site lists them and any other identifying information about that potential document. You can even copy and paste the information, including the url, to help you find the information again. Then I can go right back to working on my goal for that day's research without worrying about whether or not I will be able to find the information about that other potential lead at a later time.

If you have other ideas and suggestions on how to deal with BSO please feel free to share them in the comments section.

Note to self

This is a note to myself (and any one else like me)...
It is MUCH easier to write your notes in a coherant manner and to properly cite sources when you find each bit of information rather than trying to go back later and sort through everything! Remember to make sure the pertinent information is put into notes section each person it pertains to WITH PROPER DOCUMENTATION!!!  Even if it means stopping research in order to enter it, in the long run it will save time and effort!
Michael you were right, trying to get things together to put into blog form is showing me I have not been methodical enough in following through with my finds and entering it into the database. :(