Recording Your Research

Genealogy is a lot of researching and perusing through records - whether in book or electronic format. It is important to document your research. For some it may help to make up your game plan before you start your research. For others it is easier to record it as you go. Regardless of how you decide to go about it...document it! Think of it as creating a bread trail for you to follow if you come across something that supports information you already have or reminds you of where you have already been.

✍TAKE NOTE: There are many different research forms out there and can overwhelm a newcomer. Remember to start small and wade into the water at whatever pace doesn't overwhelm you. Bookmark or write down sites that contain research forms you might be interested in and learn about them one at a time to see if they are right for you.

In this post we will be looking at a few examples of research forms that I have found helpful and provided a few links for websites that offer forms you can download and print. Many of the links will contain several forms and logs that you can select but I will only be focusing on a few of them. Feel free to learn about them as you go and see what works for you.

Examples of Research Logs:

Correspondence Log helps keep track of communication with anyone you have contacted regarding genealogy

Correspondence Logs are an excellent way of keeping track of any communication you have had regarding your genealogy. Cemeteries, funeral homes, county offices, libraries, historical societies or extended family - anyone that you have communicated with. It also allows you to include what information you have received. It's like creating your own personal family history phone book!

Library Research Checklist is very convenient for road trips to locate records and recording information found

 Library Research Checklists help keep track of information located at a specific location as well as a list of necessary supplies to bring. This form allows you to keep track of books that may provide insight into family members as well as noting what pages the information was listed on.

✍TAKE NOTE: You can also use the Library Research Checklist for books that are located online via Google or WorldCat.

Research Logs are helpful for keeping track of individual or family groups

 Research Logs allow for recording of date(s) information was found as well as the location (library, web, etc), source, information looked for/found and pages involved.

Newspaper Research Log tracks information gathered from newspapers

 Newspapers are an excellent place to get details regarding family events: births, engagements, marriages, milestone anniversaries and deaths/obituaries were often listed in newspapers. If you get lucky you may even get names of family that came from out of town to visit for the events!

Online Search Trackers help prevent researchers from visiting sites over and over for information they already have

 Online Search Trackers help researchers keep track of where they have already been and what they have learned from the site they have searched. With so many sources available on the web it is easy to get lost and not remember where you learned what...let alone where you have been! By using and online search tracker, you can glance over the sheet to see if you have already visited sites listed in your results from a search without wasting time on information you already have.

Research Checklist helps keep track of what stones you have unturned

Research Checklists are handy for keeping your research focused. On an individual level you can keep track of each type of record you have looked in for a particular ancestor and the date and location that you found them. It also provides helpful ideas of places to look for information that can help support other life events. For example - social security death index often lists at least a birth year for the deceased as well as the last residence. This information will help fine tune research for a birth certificate and you can check the last residence to see if an obituary was recorded in the local paper.

If you are clever with computers and what to create your own research log(s), here is a fantastic article from FamilyTree Magazine that is excellent on setting up a research log and walks you through it step by step on your computer:
Using A Genealogy Research Log
It also contains some helpful links at the bottom of the article.

Here are a few links to various research logs that are FREE to download:

Family Tree Templates and Forms - this site has an amazing variety of FREE forms, logs and trees that you can download for your personal use. You can also download a fillable form for a fee if you prefer the electronic route for storing all information. Browse the column on the left of your screen for even more break downs of various forms available.

FamilyTree Magazine Research Forms and Logs - while many of their forms are free for download, some do require users to provide an email address.

Ancestry Research Charts and Forms - while I try to keep most of my links to free sites, those of you that have an ancestry membership can use the charts and forms in this link for your research information. The selection is small and therefore will not overwhelm you.

Cyndi's List Printable Charts and Forms - provides several pages of various types of forms that you can use for your genealogy research and findings. Cyndi is excellent at letting users know which sites are free or require membership ($).

Try a few out and see what works for you. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome in the comment box. Happy Researching!