Summary of Genealogical Research Skills (National Institute)

Summary: Research Skills
Effective initial analysis of your research problems or roadblocks gives you the right attitude and skills to accomplish your objectives, even if one small step at a time. Identifying and setting goals are the beginning of your genealogical success.


 * You will remember to identify each small goal along your way—to ask the question that needs answering, or to form a hypothesis that needs verification or rejection.


 * You learn to educate yourself about any and every source which might hold some of the information you require; this is your research planning.


 * You search out all those sources, even if they are difficult to locate or time-consuming.


 * As you progress with sources, you carefully note a detailed citation to each one.


 * You evaluate each source for its original or derivative reliability and its historical context.


 * You study each piece of information in a source, sometimes by transcribing or abstracting, whether or not each piece of data seems relevant at the time to your quest.


 * Your collection of information or data is then correlated and analyzed for its credibility as evidence, i.e. direct or indirect evidence for the question or hypothesis at issue.


 * Finally, you can make a conclusion based on your examination of all the material. If there has been confusing information or conflicting evidence, your best effort is a written summary or argument about your conclusion.

Becoming a real-life historical detective can be extremely satisfying, and is a big attraction of genealogy for not only family historians, but for anyone who plans to exercise his or her brain in a lifelong adventure!