What will we learn?

In Week 4 we’ll explore how to analyse and build upon the information found during the research process moving on from the searching technique discussions from week two.

Genealogists need to be sure they have found the ‘right’ person and we will cover some of the ways genealogists decide if they’ve found the best match in the records for an individual. It’s also important to know when you’ve done enough research to come to a reasonable decision on a match and the Genealogical Proof Standard has good guidance on this. We’ll introduce this standard in this week’s steps.

After completing this week, you should begin to be familiar with:

1. The principles of genealogical proof with an introduction to the Genealogical Proof Standard
2. How to narrow down possible matches
3. Thinking laterally around brick wall issues problems
4. The use of DNA testing in genealogical research

Study Groups

Choose the study group tab at the top of any step to access your study group for this course.

Your study group is a place to get to know your fellow learners a bit better, to support and encourage each other, and to discuss what you’re learning in depth with the same set of people during the course.

It’s also a place for collaboration. You can visit this group whenever you like, but for most weeks we will ask you to complete some research or searching tasks or to discuss an idea specifically within your study group. This is strictly optional for this course but doing the tasks and/or collaborating is a great way to really solidify your learning. So why not take this opportunity to say hello?