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ACCURACY IN GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH

© Christine Sievers

This week, I have been working hard trying to make a decent home page with my family files on it. If any of you have visited that page, you know that it is pretty simplistic and funky. Through trial and error, I am making progress. I'll keep you updated on my efforts as I learn. Maybe I can pass some helpful information on to other Web newbies like me.

Now on to this week's topic, accuracy in genealogy research. Just what is accurate data? As mentioned in the article Organizing the Inconclusive by Michael John Neill, even official sources, such as birth and death certificates, can contain conflicting information. The farther you go back, the murkier it gets.

That is why your research methods are important. Always, always, always record the source of each item of information, in detail. Can you tell that I am speaking from experience? Yep, I had to throw out data I had collected because my scanty records made it useless. So, here are some tips to avoid my mistake.

If you found the information in a book, record the title, author, date of publication, and publisher. Note where you found the book, in case you might want to go back to it. If the author has a footnote as to where the information was obtained, copy that, too. It can be used as another direction for research. Remember, just because it is in a book, doesn't make it true. So, if there is no footnote to collaborate the author's evidence, remain skeptical.

Be even more careful with information found on the Internet. Search for clues as to where they found their sources, pulling up all the pages connected to that site. Web pages come and go, so along with the URL, write down the e-mail and snail mail addresses of the author. It will come in handy if this becomes a hot trail and you want to contact them.

Remember that geographical boundaries and place names change over the years.

Should you include questionable data and hearsay? Yes, because that is where your clues for further research lies. Just remember to label it as such. How about Aunt Jane's stories? Write them down because they enrich your family tree, but include notes as to where, when, and from whom you got the information. That goes for any information you receive from family members.

Being accurate is important for your family records, but even more so when you present your findings to a wider genealogical audience. For further reading on this subject see Standards for Sound Genealogical Research by the National Genealogical Society.

The copyright of the article ACCURACY IN GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH in Genealogy is owned by Christine Sievers. Permission to republish ACCURACY IN GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.