The Writer's Block - Summer 2025
Avoiding Basic Research Mistakes - Part 2
By Kristina Newcomer
Mistakes happen - we are only human - but to avoid incorporating them into our research, and by extension our writing, we need to become familiar with some of the more common genealogical pitfalls. Below are three more research mistakes to avoid.
MOVING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION
- Don't waste valuable research time trying to link to a famous historical figure from an earlier age to someone in your family tree by skipping important steps. Finding that connection should be proven through correct research methods, not by the happenstance of a common name or location.
- Nothing wastes more time than forgetting the first rule of research: move from the known to the unknown, not vice-versa. If you connect with that famous historical person through diligent, generation-by-generation research and documentation, then you know your results cannot be refuted..
FOCUSING ON ONE DOCUMENT AT A TIME
- bolster your conclusions by searching out as many supporting documents as possible.
- Collect, correlate, and connect documents to support your conclusions. Ask yourself, "Are those various documents consistent with everything I've discovered about my ancestor?"
- Confirm and expand your research by studying more than one document at a time. This way, you will be able to reconcile conflicting information and reach a supportable conclusion.
SEARCHING FOR THAT ONE WONDROUS, AMAZING, MAGICAL DOCUMENT
- Not every search results in documents that fill in missing connections, heirs, or relationships. Even the most careful and exhaustive search cannot find what doesn't exist.
- However, by carefully examining each record for circumstantial evidence, we can support our conclusions without resorting to wish fulfillment.