Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:
It's Saturday Night again
-
Time for some more Genealogy
Fun!!
1) Learning about how to pursue genealogy and family history is a lifetime task. Once you've mastered one record type (census, church, certificates, probate, directories, immigration, etc), or one skill (family tree software program, record transcription, source citations, DNA matches, AI prompting, etc.), a new record or skill presents itself. With the constant advances in technology and knowledge, doing genealogy and family history well requires constant learning of something new.
2) This week's challenge is to tell us a new genealogy-related skill that you have, or are working on, developing. Tell us about your progress. Are you having fun?
Here’s mine:
I have not been good at keeping an accurate track of my
searches since moving to working online. When I first began genealogy research,
I kept a paper spiral-bound notebook and recorded every source I viewed. I
still have those papers, but since I would look at multiple family lines in a
particular source, these papers are not easy to file away. I could scan them and
cut and paste, I suppose.
However, since researching online, I have not been as diligent in recording every source for every search I made. This past year, I’ve been trying to break that habit. If I become aware of a new source or think of a new research question, I open a new Word document and begin a research report to myself.
This, too, is a challenge. I now have ten or so new research reports started. I get a bit spazzy sometimes and don’t stay on one topic for long, unless I have a clear deadline. I created a special folder to put these in so I don’t lose them. Now, if I have some free time, I’ll open one of those research reports and continue where I left off.
I think this is going to work. I capture every online search. It’s helping me create citations on the go. I’m capturing the full URL so I can get back to the document later if needed. In the long run, I hope it gets me more productive and helps me solve some of those brick walls.
it sounds like you have found a method that works for you. I think Word is another underused resource that genealogists should be using more.
ReplyDeleteI have tried other apps but Word works best for me.
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