Stepping Toward a Solution
Beginners struggle with the task of planning and conducting efficient research, and the ready availability of online records and databases can actually add to the confusion. Would-be genealogists have easy access to information that may or may not relate to their own families. Many newcomers to genealogy spend hours at the computer gathering whatever scraps they can find to connect to names on their trees. They don’t realize that sound research leading to valid conclusions starts with well-defined research goals and strategic plans.
All projects should begin with a clear problem—a specific question that can be answered through genealogical research. “Who,” “what,” and “when” are the most appropriate questions. Researchers could seek, for example, a person’s spouse or parent (“who”); a person’s occupation, religion, or ethnicity (“what”); or the date a person married, died, migrated, or naturalized (“when”). Genealogists should state their questions with as much detail as possible. Focused questions help genealogists plan, research, and analyze.
Only NGS members have access to full articles of NGS Monthly. Please log in or click here to learn more about joining the National Genealogical Society.If you have trouble logging on or accessing the articles, please contact [email protected]
You left off the important “Where” although hinting at it when mentioning a record noting a location. I relate our task as an analogy of good journalists’ reporting needing to address accurately the Who, What, When, and Where in every article. The four Ws are important to every genealogist’s “fact” and it’s incomplete without all four. Journalists stories often add the “Why” and “How” — these add context and understanding — and when added to first four W’s — they provide the flesh to your genealogical “skeletons” to provide the far more complete Family History.