{"id":202,"date":"2024-12-08T04:38:06","date_gmt":"2024-12-08T04:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/?p=202"},"modified":"2024-12-08T04:38:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-08T04:38:06","slug":"how-a-research-log-will-transform-your-family-history-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/08\/how-a-research-log-will-transform-your-family-history-research\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Research Log Will Transform Your Family History Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Research<\/picture><\/noscript><\/p>\n

How a Research Log Will Transform Your Family History Research<\/h1>\n

Last Updated August 20, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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This lesson about research logs is part of our online Organization for Family Historians course. To access the entire 36 lesson course, associated hands-on activities and quizzes, and digital workbook (which includes a fillable research log) check out our Course Center.<\/p>\n

Have you ever excitedly visited an online research site (or physical archive) and considered with awe the vast collection of records available to you, but had no idea where to begin your research? Or, perhaps, you\u2019ve spent hours researching a single person only to lose or forget much of what you learned and where exactly you learned it. Maybe you\u2019ve even walked away from your research for a few weeks and then been completely confused about where to pick it up again when you returned?<\/p>\n

This has happened to most of us, and it absolutely will happen if you don\u2019t use a research log. Research logs<\/strong> have long been one of the most important tools for the organized genealogist, for good reason.<\/p>\n

What is a Family History Research Log?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a document that tells you what you\u2019ve researched, what you\u2019ve found, what you didn\u2019t<\/em> find, and what research you still need to tackle on a person or family group. They are sometimes printed out \u2013 but can also be found in fillable, digital form like the one included in our Family History Workbook.<\/p>\n

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When you use a research log during your genealogy journey, your research is always moving forward and you\u2019re not wasting precious time and expense retracing your steps, doing the same search over and over or, of course, standing in the middle of a repository with no clue what to do next.<\/p>\n

Genealogy Without a Research Log = Insanity?<\/h2>\n

These days it\u2019s super easy to pull up your ancestor\u2019s profile in your online system, hit the \u201cSearch\u201d button, and click in and out of the hundreds (or thousands) of records that magically appear on your results page. Along with hints, this search process can uncover a lot of obvious records that you\u2019re pretty sure belong to your ancestor.<\/p>\n

If you save that record to your tree, the system adds not only the information you\u2019ve selected to pull from the source, but also a neat little source citation and image of the original record (if applicable). That\u2019s all well and good, but it\u2019s not actually how thorough genealogy research should be conducted. Theoretically, you should search for one life event or fact for one family or ancestor at a time.<\/p>\n

For example, you see that the birthdate and birthplace for your third-great-grandfather is blank in your family group sheet (see the previous lesson). Your task at that time should be ONLY to search relevant sources for that person\u2019s birthdate and birthplace, not everything you can turn up about his entire life history.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re armed with a research log, searching for a birthdate and birthplace won\u2019t be daunting or distracting. Your log will remind you of the ancestor you\u2019re researching (third-great-grandfather Andrew Williams) and the objective of your research (find Andrew\u2019s birthdate and birthplace).<\/p>\n

You will list which sources you\u2019re going to research (county censuses for specific timespan, births and christening indexes, baptismal records, etc.). Once you\u2019ve searched one source, you write down what you found, including an accurate citation of the source. That way, the next time you work on this same objective you won\u2019t duplicate your efforts.<\/p>\n

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In this way your research log becomes an index to the research you\u2019ve already performed; something you can refer back to anytime you\u2019re researching that particular family group. You\u2019ll know when you researched, what you looked at, what you found, and be able to easily plan what to do next.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same results. Research logs can keep you from driving yourself crazy!<\/p>\n

Where Can I Find a Research Log?<\/h2>\n

As with other genealogy forms, there are multiple variations of research log templates, and you can always create your own custom version with features you\u2019re most likely to use. The template we\u2019ve included in our digital workbook<\/strong> in our Course Center can be used for the purpose of tracking a specific objective (such as finding parents, an occupation or the location of a birth place and location) or for a more general search for a specific ancestor or even a family group.<\/p>\n

It includes the following spaces:<\/p>\n

Your ancestor\u2019s nameThe objective of that researchDate of your searchCollection searched and its locationDiscoveries based on the search of\u00a0that collectionYour\u00a0objective\u00a0outcomeNotes<\/p>\n

Getting Started With Research Logs<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re taking our Organization Course as a beginning genealogist, you have the supreme advantage of being able to start off fresh with your new organizational plan and blank research tools. If you\u2019re an advanced or long-time family historian with stacks of photocopies culled from decades of research, you may be questioning whether research logs are a realistic option.<\/p>\n

Our recommendation for those who\u2019ve never used a research log before is to\u00a0start now and go forward, but don\u2019t try to go back and recreate previous research efforts<\/em>. Once you organize your paper and digital information into family group files, you can create a research log for individuals or groups as you conduct research on a particular family.<\/p>\n

Ready? Let\u2019s begin!<\/p>\n

Before You Research<\/h2>\n

A research log is just as important to your research plan as it is for recording your results. Before you visit a repository or go online to search a database, take a moment to start your research log.\u00a0\u00a0Go ahead and fill in the date you\u2019re researching, the purpose\/objective of the search, and most importantly, the sources you know you need to search.<\/p>\n

Knowing sources you\u2019ll need to review will require planning and some preliminary research. Most libraries and archives offer a listing of their resources on the facility\u2019s website or in an online catalog. This step will also save you a wasted trip to a facility that doesn\u2019t hold the records you need to search.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also want to write down how you plan to achieve the results you need, and the questions you\u2019re asking. Questions like, \u201cWho are Charlie Malone\u2019s parents?\u201d and \u201cWhy was the Malone family in Chambers County in 1880?\u201d remind you of your purpose when you\u2019re tempted to scamper down a rabbit hole.<\/p>\n

If you need help developing research questions that will help you complete your research objectives, please review the Developing Research Questions section of our\u00a0Master Course.<\/p>\n

Results and Negative Evidence<\/h2>\n

Another goal of your research log is to show the results of your search, whether those are positive or negative. Negative results are just as important as positive finds. If you thoroughly search a source and don\u2019t find your answer, then you\u2019ll know not to search that source again.<\/p>\n

As you conduct your research, using your research log as a guide, make notes of your results in the designated column. Your method for recording results can be a simple comment or a system of symbols \u2014 it\u2019s up to you.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples often seen in research log systems:<\/p>\n

Positive results<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Name of person found or event, the document number you\u2019ve assigned to the results (if you\u2019ve made a photocopy), or the family group file name the results belong to. You\u2019ll also want to create a footnote citation for this source right away while you still have the source (and all of its pertinent information) in front of you.<\/p>\n

Negative results<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 The word \u201cNil,\u201d the \u00d8 symbol, or for best results, what you were searching for and didn\u2019t find, such as \u201cNo adult males aged 25 to 35 named Williams.\u201d When you don\u2019t find something, you might also make a note to do some future research in a different type of record or another area to search \u2014 maybe even in a neighboring county.<\/p>\n

By methodically marking your results in your research log as you go, you create a clear account of what\u2019s been done and what needs to be done next, because blanks in your Results column indicate work yet to be completed.<\/p>\n

In some cases, your results will be inconclusive or incomplete. Maybe you ran out of time as a library was closing and had to stop midway through your review of a newspaper on microfilm. Or perhaps you only checked the index of a book and not the relevant chapters. If your search was online, maybe an index isn\u2019t available and you\u2019re having to slog through thousands of digital images in a collection of wills.<\/p>\n

Making notes of your exact actions and stopping points will save you lots of time and help you better manage your next research visit.<\/p>\n

Next Steps<\/h2>\n

In a recorded presentation on FamilySearch about the importance of research logs, genealogist G. David Dilts, AG\u00ae explains how crucial it is to document as you go, complete your research log, and to transfer this information to your family group sheet and other records immediately after you return from your trip or close down the search program.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to do these things before you lay your head on the pillow,\u201d he says. \u201cI consider these things to be the essential part of the most important principle that I can think of in genealogy \u2014 that you organize as you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re keeping your main working family tree online, either in software or in a program like MyHeritage, Ancestry, or FamilySearch, part of your documentation process is adding these new positive findings to those records.<\/p>\n

This is a simple step in most every program.\u00a0In Ancestry, for example, you\u2019d simply click the \u201cAdd Source\u201d field on an ancestor\u2019s profile page.<\/p>\n

\"Adding<\/picture>

Next, you\u2019d complete the form using Ancestry\u2019s drop-downs and by filling in the blanks:<\/p>\n

\"Citing<\/picture>

If your source is not listed in Ancestry\u2019s drop-down menu, click \u201cCreate a New Source\u201d to enter the citation information you recorded about the source on your research log. This creates a solid, easy-to-follow citation within your ancestor\u2019s profile.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/picture>

For more help with Ancestry, see our Ancestry Crash Course.<\/p>\n

PRO-TIP: <\/strong>It\u2019s worth repeating here: Don\u2019t try to go back and create research logs for every family file or member during your process of organizing your genealogy collection. Instead, wait until you\u2019ve worked through organizing your material into family files in the next lessons. When you\u2019re at a stopping point, choose one or two family files as your research focus, and complete a family group sheet and research log(s) for your research going forward.<\/p>\n

Adding to Your Research Log<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not only onsite or online research that you should enter into your research log. Any information you receive from a cousin by email, letter, or personal interview relating to a particular family group should be added to your research log and filed in your family group file. Every piece of information is a potential clue to your ancestor\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

When you add every search or bit of a clue to your research log the right way, and keep your personal organization system going, it\u2019s incredibly rewarding to go back to the log the next time you search and see what all you\u2019ve accomplished. The fillable version of the form we have provided allows you to make changes, or additions, right on your computer. You may also like to take advantage of the fillable Notes page as well for more details about your searches.<\/p>\n

To complete a hands-on lesson that will help you get familiar with research logs and access the form sign up here.<\/p>\n

\n

This lesson about research logs is part of our online Organization for Family Historians course. To access the entire 36 lesson course, associated hands-on activities and quizzes, and digital workbook (which includes a fillable research log) check out our Course Center.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How a Research Log Will Transform Your Family History Research Last Updated August 20, 2021 Ancestry 50% Off Gift Memberships for Black Friday (Gift to Anyone, Even Yourself!) This lesson about research logs is part of our online Organization for Family Historians course. To access the entire 36 lesson course, associated hands-on activities and quizzes, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2],"class_list":["post-202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-guides","tag-db"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":208,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions\/208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}