{"id":645,"date":"2024-12-08T04:46:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-08T04:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/?p=645"},"modified":"2024-12-08T04:46:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-08T04:46:41","slug":"this-may-be-the-most-vital-research-trick-youll-ever-learn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/08\/this-may-be-the-most-vital-research-trick-youll-ever-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"This May Be the Most Vital Research Trick You'll Ever Learn"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

This May Be the Most Important Genealogy Research Trick You\u2019ll Ever Learn<\/h1>\n

Last Updated February 15, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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The first thing most family history researchers do when they encounter a genealogy website is to begin searching for their ancestors in the general (main) search form provided by the site \u2013 which is often located on the homepage or in another easily accessible area.\u00a0All large genealogy research sites center around these main search forms which are designed, generally, to look for records in all searchable collections<\/strong> at one time.<\/p>\n

General search forms that dig through millions, or even billions, of records are certainly handy. If you have never used a site before \u2013 or have not searched for a specific ancestor \u2013 these forms can be a great way to gather the low hanging family history fruit, so to speak. They provide a fast way to turn up easy-to-find records with little effort. But, despite this obvious convenience,\u00a0they may often be stifling your efforts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No matter how convenient search technology is, it does have its limitations. Seasoned researchers know that even the best search algorithms will not turn up every possible and reasonable result. Even when advanced and focused search techniques are used, a search form that is asked to sift through seemingly limitless records can easily exclude or bury results.<\/p>\n

For this reason it is very, very easy to miss records that exist on a site without even knowing it. We cover the reasons for this and how to overcome this hurdle extensively in our online genealogy courses.<\/p>\n

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MyHeritage is offering 2 free weeks of access to their extensive collection of 20 billion historical records, as well as their matching technology that instantly connects you with new information about your ancestors<\/b>. Sign up using the link below to find out what you can uncover about your family. Discover New Genealogy Records Instantly<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The absolute fastest way to begin<\/em> overcoming this limitation is to use the general search box sparingly (especially on large genealogy websites) and focus instead on searching individual record collections. It is the best way, hands down, to immediately increase the number of relevant\u00a0records you discover about your ancestors.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Searching individual collections allows you to educate yourself about the records being searched, to use creative techniques more effectively, to more easily make use of limited browsing and to uncover records you may very well have never discovered otherwise.\u00a0This is especially true when you are facing obstacles in your research.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at a few reasons why the general search form on a site is usually not your best bet for uncovering the records you need.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Using individual record collections<\/strong>, which are focused on a specific topic, location and\/or time period will allow you to make better use of advanced search techniques since you are sorting through so many less records. You will be able to more effectively use wildcards, keyword and no name searches and combine these searches with some level of browsing to find what you need.<\/p>\n

This is especially true when trying to find\u00a0records where a name or other important detail was\u00a0recorded or transcribed incorrectly. The simple act of narrowing down your records to a more targeted and limited number will greatly increase your chances of finding that needle in the digital haystack. Just remember to take the time you need to educate yourself about the record collections you are using<\/strong>. Don\u2019t be misled by titles \u2013 read the description provided by the website to fully understand what data is, and is not, included in each collection and how to best search it.<\/p>\n

2. In addition to limiting your search <\/strong>to a more targeted group of records, individual collections often also have their own custom\u00a0search forms giving you more options to work with in your search.<\/p>\n

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You will be able to more easily know what information has been indexed and is therefore searchable, and what information is not. By educating yourself about the collection and using the custom search fields to your benefit, you give yourself a big head start on locating the records you need.<\/p>\n

3. The third main reason to use individual collections<\/strong> instead of a general search form is that you will be able to more easily discover and utilize the browse-only collections available on many sites. Because browse-only collections are not indexed they are not included in general searches and are somewhat invisible to many everyday users.<\/p>\n

Searching through individual collections\u00a0allows to find and take advantage of these important offerings. This article covers in detail why this is so valuable on FamilySearch and we dedicated a whole lesson on how to do this for Ancestry.com in our Ancestry Crash Course.<\/p>\n

How can you find these individual collections?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many large genealogy websites offer an online catalog\u00a0that will allow you to view each collection individually. In the catalog you will find information about how many records are included and a link to the collection itself where you will discover just what can be found in it.<\/p>\n

Look for a link to the catalog in the main menu of a website if you don\u2019t see it mentioned\u00a0on the homepage. If no catalog is offered, other methods may be provided so that you can find individual collections. It is worth the effort to seek these out.<\/p>\n

Here are a few catalogs you can start with now. Please note that\u00a0we are an affiliate of some of the companies mentioned below and may earn a small commission if you make a purchase via these links.<\/p>\n

FamilySearch\u2019s<\/strong> catalog can be found here<\/strong>. They offer many browse-only collections you won\u2019t want to miss, as well as custom search fields for each searchable collection. It is usually best to search by keyword<\/strong> (the type and\/or location of records you are looking for)\u00a0and then filter for online<\/strong> availability.<\/p>\n

Ancestry<\/strong> provides a card catalog of their collections and have done a very good job of developing custom search forms for each collection they offer. Find it here.<\/strong><\/p>\n

MyHeritage<\/strong> also offers a catalog of their collections. Use the advanced search for more options to increase your search potential on this site. You can get a two week free trial to MyHeritage here<\/strong> if you want to explore these collections before committing to a subscription payment.<\/p>\n

Take advantage of the power of individual collections\u00a0to do some serious creative searching and uncover some of the records you\u2019ve been missing in your tree.<\/p>\n

Read for More Help With Your Genealogy Searches: Ancestry\u2019s \u201cLocation Traps\u201d Are Causing Researchers to Miss Important Records<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Melanie Mayo, Family History Daily Editor<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This May Be the Most Important Genealogy Research Trick You\u2019ll Ever Learn Last Updated February 15, 2024 Ancestry 50% Off Gift Memberships for Black Friday (Gift to Anyone, Even Yourself!) The first thing most family history researchers do when they encounter a genealogy website is to begin searching for their ancestors in the general (main) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2],"class_list":["post-645","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\/645","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=645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":648,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645\/revisions\/648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}