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Research: Avoiding Problems

https://www.thefhguide.com/project-4-discover07.html

Class Outline - Research Goal 7 - BASIC

Speaker Notes: Click the down-arrow next to Slideshow and select Presenter View. Then click the link on the main slide. For each item in quotes below, open the similar link in The Family History Guide. Last updated: 2023-09-19 Home Page

GOAL 7: Solve Problems

Choice A:

Bullet list at the start of Choice A:

- Read through the list of common mistakes for genealogists.

“LT: Research Pitfalls …”

- Briefly discuss each of the bold headings, which are common traps that beginning researchers fall into: Collecting Ancestors, Fishing for the Famous, Tunnel Vision, Incomplete Research, and Being Disorganized.

“AR: Beginner Mistakes …”

- Click the Info button and mention each of the links in the list as potential mistakes. You can select one or two of the links to go to the corresponding place in the video and watch the segment.

“AJC: 3 Biggest Mistakes …”

- In 1: Trying to Take …review the author’s Google Maps example, and then review and discuss the bullet list below it.

- In 2: Stopping Too Soon, discuss the importance of evaluating records rather than taking them at face value.

- In 3: Skimming for Facts, discuss the value of digging into records for additional information.

“10 Tips to Be …”

- Watch the entire video (just under 8 minutes) and pause and comment as needed. You can display the video chapters in YouTube to see the 10 individual tips in a separate window and skip ahead if necessary.

“AC: Preconceived Notions …”

- Pause the video at 12:00 and discuss the bullet points on the screen as they relate to preconceived notions and the questions that need to be asked about them.

“GC: Mistaken Identity”

- Read the first paragraph and highlight the problem of mistaken identities in genealogy.

- Read and discuss the Mistaken Identity: Part 2 paragraph.

- In Inaccurate Previous Research, summarize the paragraphs. Focus on the need to verify information in inherited pedigrees, to avoid building incorrect branches in your family tree.

- In Impossibly Close Dates, read and discuss the first paragraph. Also mention the possibility of typos in recorded dates.

“Solving the Mystery …”

- Watch the video from 0:40 to 4:53 to see 5 reasons why birth dates may be missing or wrong for some ancestors (no birth certificate or SSN, the ancestor couldn’t remember, the ancestor was less than forthright about dates, the informant was not sure, and faulty information provided in a census record - described later in the video).