What will we learn?

This week we’ll be getting you to define what it is you are actually searching for and we’ll consider the many challenges names can cause.

After completing this week you will begin to feel comfortable with some key ways to think about looking for your family information. We’ll cover:

• How to create a research strategy
• A couple of less commonly used or newly developed techniques (the FAN Club, mind mapping and DNA testing)
• What genealogy databases are, how they work and a few tips on how to use them.
• Name issues, such as mis-transcriptions, different pronunciations and how spelling can change over time.

To achieve this you will watch videos outlining how to approach research in a systematic fashion, different ways to approach research and how databases work. You will read about these concepts in greater depth as well. We will also explore names: where they come from, how they can change and how this impacts on finding people. Best ways to search databases to overcome name issues will also be covered.

We are also going to get you to engage in an exercise where you consider how names can be pronounced differently and how that can affect their spelling. We’d love for you to share names that are of interest to you personally.

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?