by Brian Hutchison, B.Comm., C.M.A.
Gen-Find Research Associates
Date: February 1, 1998 (Edmonton, Alberta)

Some guidelines to research by:

1. Work from the Known to the Unknown. Begin with yourself and then work back in time through your ancestors.
2. Start with your 'home-search'. Glean whatever information you can from old documents, letters, family Bibles/journals, visits with family members (especially elderly ones), old wedding invitations, birth or death announcements, church or local history books, yearbooks, etc.
3. Refer to women by their maiden surname. This allows you to better document and refer to family members as well as easily follow their connections through the lineages.
4. Evaluate all data for reliability. Refer to Section entitled 'Categorization of Data'. Concentrate on extracting as many primary and secondary class records as possible in establishing the reliability of your search results.
5. Do NOT get 'hung-up' with spellings of names.
   • Make a collection of all possible ways of spelling the names you are searching. It is not unusual to find a person's name spelled one way on a birth certificate then other ways on the marriage, death or other documents.
   • Spellings frequently changed when people emigrated, especially if the alphabet of the new country differed from where they had come from.
   • Often forms were filled in by clerks who spelled by phonetics, then were signed with an 'X' by the person referred to on the form/document (e.g. Marriage certificates, wills, etc.).
6. Recognize naming patterns and family traditions. Many countries use or have used naming systems (surname and/or given names) unique to their own area.
7. Estimate dates of events, where necessary. If you don't have an exact date, estimate it as closely as you can then indicate how you came to that conclusion. Generally it can be thought that a women married at the age of about 22 years while a man at 24 years. When you get farther back in your research, you will find that there is a change in the calendar system from Julian to Gregorian. As this occurred at different times depending on the country, you will have to familiarize yourself with the history of the country you are searching in however the change generally occurred sometime before 1800.
8. You MUST have a location associated to an individual and an event. You will find references to 'where' your relative lived in many places, letters, journals, documents, newspapers, etc.
   • Gazetteers can help you locate where unfamiliar places are.
   • Make a habit of keeping a large-scaled map of the areas you are searching, with your research papers.
   • Noting three geographical areas will help you to 'zero-in' on the location. You need:
     • a country
     • a subdivision of that country (i.e., province, county, state, etc.) and then,
     • a smaller judicial area within that subdivision (i.e., city, town, parish). You will find that the term 'parish' is used also for an ecclesiastical district as well as a 'church'.
9. Keep records that other people can understand and follow. You are putting a lot of time, effort and money into this project so don't waste it by having records that are confusing. Should you discontinue your effort in this work, your documentation should be well enough organized that anyone could take over from where you left off. By doing this, however, there is also a spin- off benefit for you as one of the key criteria for a successful project is the level of organization and record- keeping one does. The relationship is directly proportional.
10. Cite your sources of information. If you need to go back over your work you will want to know where you got your information from and be well aware that who ever reads your final product will question what specifics you have included there, relentlessly, unless you can substantiate you claims!!
11. Write letters!! The key to obtaining information is to go after it and unless you can research it for yourself locally or by visitation, the only other alternative is to write someone else. Probably the majority of your final information will come from this source.
    • Letters should always be clear, concise, correct, courteous, and clean.
    • Keep a carbon copy if you do not have a copy saved on your word processor or computer.
    • Generally enclose a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) when asking people to reply to a letter of yours. However, for major institutions, it is recommended you do not do this.
    • Enclose some means of paying for return postage if you do not have an appropriate stamp (e.g., International postal coupon or money order).
    • Do NOT request too much in any letter. The recipient may be overwhelmed or annoyed then will set your letter aside.
    • Avoid being demanding!
    • Offer to exchange information with other researchers.