You Say and I Wonder

[note: An earlier version of this appeared in the former Ancestry.com Daily News, which unfortunately I cannot find archived anywhere easily]

You Say: “I Found a New Document Today.”

And I wonder:

• Have you entered the information into your genealogy database?
• Have you completely analyzed the document?
• Have you thought about what other records the document suggests you research?
• Have you filed the document so you can find it?
• Have you adequately cited the document so someone else can find the original?

You Say: “I Have a Document I Don’t Understand.”

And I wonder:

• Have you read the document out loud?
• Have you typed the document?
• Have you asked someone else to look at the document?
• Have you read the entire document?
• Have you read the document backward?
• Have you looked up words you do not understand?
• Do you have the entire document?
• Do you have an incomplete transcription or abstract?

You Say: “I Can’t Find Where My Ancestor Came From.”

And I wonder:

• Have you looked at the entire family?
• Have you looked for unknown family members?
• Have you analyzed the neighbors?
• Have you read local histories?
• Have you read regional histories?
• Have you considered geography?
• Have you considered economics?
• Have you considered migration trails?
• Have you considered chain migration?
• Have you considered boundary changes?
• Have you traced the person’s life as far as you can?
• Have you started with the most recent events and worked backward?

You Say: “I’m Stuck.”

And I wonder:

• Have you interviewed all the relatives?
• Have you interviewed former family neighbors?
• Have you identified all the family pictures?
• Have you considered all the spellings?
• Have you considered all the pronunciations?
• Have you taken a break and worked on another line or family?
• Have you written up what you already have?

• Have you checked vital records?
• Have you checked land records?
• Have you checked court records?
• Have you checked probate records?
• Have you checked local records?
• Have you checked state records?
• Have you checked federal records?
• Have you checked church records?
• Have you checked occupational records?
• Have you checked ethnic organizations?
• Have you checked fraternal organizations?
• Have you researched every organization to which your ancestor belonged (church, fraternal, ethnic, military, etc.)?

• Have you checked your assumptions?
• Are you researching from the present to the past?
• Have you organized your information?
• Have you double-checked research you did when you were new to genealogy?
• Have you put queries on appropriate bulletin boards?
• Have you posted your question to appropriate listserves?

You Say: “I Don’t Understand This Topic.”

And I wonder:

• Have you attended a relevant workshop or seminar?
• Have you read an article or book on the subject?
• Have you listened to a conference tape?
• Have you read an appropriate reference work?
• Have you subscribed to an appropriate listserv?
• Have you looked for articles on the Internet?

You Say: “I Got It Off the Internet.”

And I wonder:

• Have you contacted the compiler?
• Have you located the original source?
• Have you located records the online source suggests?
• Have you considered that the online source might be incorrect?
• Have you considered using offline sources as well?
• Are you using the Internet source as a clue?

You Say: “I Can’t Find It in the Index.”

And I wonder:

• Have you made certain you know how the index is compiled?
• Have you read the compiler’s introduction (it might list record problems)?
• Have you considered typographical errors?
• Have you considered transcription errors?
• Have you considered searching the records themselves?