Analyzing Records

Moving Your Research Skills to the Next Level Using more than one genealogy record and examining the records carefully

Limits of Historical Records Some of the limitations of genealogy records explained

Limitations of Record Indexes Why you can't always rely on the index to find your ancestor

Focusing Your Research Tips for helping to keep your genealogy research goals in focus with so many records to choose from

Examine Inherited Pedigrees Carefully Questions you should ask if you are using a family tree given to you by someone else

Considering Name Spellings in Genealogy The spelling of your ancestor's name may not be what you think

Changing Place Names in Genealogy Research The names of places change over time and finding accurate ones is necessary

Using Online Databases: from General to Specific Searches How to search from general to specific to get better search results in genealogy research

9 Common Mistakes that People Doing Genealogy Make People looking for information about their ancestors sometimes make these mistakes

Bulldozer Genealogy Why sometimes you need to look at the records more closely

Dealing with Contradictory Evidence Help for evaluating genealogy records that have facts that contradict each other

Using Compiled Genealogies What to do if you find your genealogy in a book

Examining Dates Critically in Your Genealogy Research It's important to do the math and make sure your dates make sense

Finding Ancestors with Common Names Helps for identifying which person is your ancestor when they have common names

Why We Add Sources The importance of recording sources as you do genealogy research

10 U.S. Census Tips For Genealogy Research Useful tips for locating your ancestor on the census

Common Genealogy Jargon Definitions of common terms used in genealogy research

The Need for Examining Original Documents in Genealogy Why doing a check of the original document images is useful