This post is for Elizabeth O’Neal’s Back to School BlogParty. The premise is a genealogy school and what our students need to
learn. Be sure to check into the Blog
Party site throughout the month to get some helpful hints.
This topic is timely because I lead a special interest group
for beginning genealogists for Indian River Genealogical Society. We meet September through May so I’m preparing
for our new season.
So… What do my group attendees need to know?
Cite Sources
Always document sources – even
casual sources. If you got information
from cousin Edna, note that. Information from family interviews may not always
be accurate, but we need to know where it came from. If a fact is from your own
personal knowledge, note that, too. As research continues, sources get more
verifiable and concrete. Sometimes it is important to know where misinformation
comes from.
Question Everything
Even “official” documents may
contain misinformation. The information on a death certificate, for example, is
only as accurate as the knowledge of the person giving it. A young man may have
lied about his age when enlisting in the military. A young woman may have
fudged her age when applying for a marriage license. Census records are often filled with
misspellings, and erroneous information.
Don’t rely on one single document
as absolute proof. Verify! Verify!
Verify!
Make Use of Free Resources
Subscription sites are great but
there is a great deal of information available at no charge
and so many others
Continuing Education
Webinars
LegacyFamilyTreeWebinars (free)
Free weekly webinars. Each webinar is available to view at no charge for one week following the live presentation. Buying a subscription gives unlimited access to all previous webinars and the syllabus for each one. (more than 300 webinars)
AncestryAcademy (membership required)
GeneaWebnarsCalendar – a listing of upcoming webinars
Blogs
Read blogs by professional and
amateur bloggers – especially those who are doing research similar to yours.
Geneabloggers.com –
a wealth of blogs and blogging resources
But most of all, they tell me what they need to know so that
they can make progress along their genealogy journey.
Good reminder about free resources. I use Family Search all the time! Cyndi's List has so much to offer and I have to check there more often.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Marian. It's too easy to get stuck in a rut of always going to the same sites; and Cyndi works hard to keep her list up to date. Don't know how she does it.
DeleteIt's important to keep plugging educational opportunities. Digitization projects are happening so often and so quickly now that staying up to date with methods and resources is vital. I love all the webinars available now, but so many seem to not even know about them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. My Gen Society has a Facebook page where I post the link to FamilyTreeWebinars a couple of times a year. Currently, I'm in love with Chronicling America.
DeleteCiting sources and questioning everything! YES! Wonderful advice. When I was starting out I did not document where everything was coming from and now many years later I sit with several unidentified photographs and snippets of information that I have no idea about!
ReplyDeleteSue - kindredpast.wordpress.com
Yep, me, too. Sometimes I think that so much emphasis is placed on "proper" citation that beginners are reluctant to enter casual sources such as family lore. It's not truly evidence, but we need to note where each item came from.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Love that you cover the important stuff in such a concise manner :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Teresa.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSome great tips, Mary - thank you for participating in this month's GBP! I sure wish I'd started citing my sources 19 years ago when I began researching, but that just wasn't encouraged like it is today. Live and learn!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elizabeth
ReplyDelete