I don't know about you but I don't like spinning around in circles very much unless I'm on the Tilt-A-Whirl at a local field days. There are a lot of people who will say that the research cycle is a circular process that flows from one stage to the next until it swings back around to the beginning and repeats over and over again. I don't know about you, but that thought makes me a little loopy, forgive the pun.
There was a business law professor at the college I attended who would write all of his notes on the board in lists. He would always say, "I know how you Accountants love your lists." Most of the class members were Accounting majors. And yes, we do love ours lists. Personally, I love all kinds of lists - Grocery Lists, To-Do Lists, Honey-Do Lists, Pro-Con Lists... I could go on and on. These lists help people prioritize the things they need to accomplish and help them achieve their goals. Therefore, it seems perfectly reasonable to extend this practice to genealogy.
There are a million different ways to approach research and no one way is the right way. It's just a matter of finding what works best for you. But, at least for the time being, here is my...
Research Process List:
1. Pick a research subject
Who's up next in your tree (remember - start with yourself and work backward... no skipping ahead)
2. Form a research question
Figure out one small fact you want to learn about this person
3. Make a list
I know, I know... A list within a list.. who'd have thunk it. Write down all the possible places where you might be able to find the answer to your question. Don't actually start researching yet, just build the list of possibilities
4. Check it twice
It's good enough for Santa, so why not for you too. Take a second look at your list and see if there are any sources you might have missed. Ask your family for their opinion (sometimes they may even have a document or two laying around). Ask other researchers to take a look at your question and your list of possible sources - they may have some other possibilities for you to consider
5. Dive in
Work your way down through your list and dig, dig, dig for all the possible records you can get your hands on. Look high, look low, leave no stone unturned
6. Make note of your findings
For every piece of information you find, you'll need to create a citation. This might seem overwhelming at first - for now, just write down notes or take photos of anything pertaining to this source and how you found it. Imagine you lost your memory and the only thing you could rely on to find this document again was your notes. Be as thorough as possible
7. Look it all over
So, what did you end up finding? If you equated your research process to fishing, would your catch of the day be a big tuna or a little minnow. If it's a minnow, you may have to cast that line back out there again until you catch something a little bigger
8. Compare all your information
Does the information you found directly answer your question? Or, do you have to make some hypothesis about what this information is telling you? If so, can you think of any other way to confirm this hypothesis or refute it? You'll need to analyze all the information individually and in relation to all other evidence to determine whether it is useful to you or not
9. Resolve any conflicting information
Inevitably, you'll end up with documents that state conflicting information. Make sure you fully understand how this information came to be in order to make a determination about the reliability and accuracy of each piece of evidence. Make an informed decision about which information is correct
10. Write down your conclusion
Have the memory of an elephant? You may think so, but do you really want to chance it? You're going to have an awful lot of information floating around in your head after you work on your family tree for a while. Best to write down your conclusion. Just write the answer to your question and a few lines that explain what steps you took as part of this research process in order to reach that conclusion - hint: it can even be in a list format
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