There is a principle in family history research which states that we need to conduct a reasonably exhaustive search to find the best sources and build sufficient evidence to reach reasonable and defensible conclusions. So, how do we expand our family history search to find all the sources that we need? Here are my top five tips.
Expand your family history search using source guides
When you have clearly defined the information and evidence that you need for your research question or hypothesis, consult a source guide for tips about the types of sources that may provide that information or evidence.
I suggest starting with the source guides in the FamilySearch wiki. Find the page for the country that you are researching, then look for ‘Record Finder’, under the heading ‘Beginning Research’.
The beauty of these guides is that they list the sources based on the type of information you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for information about occupations, the Danish Record Finder suggests you examine Church Records.
Use area or subject guides
Guides about the locality will provide information about the range of sources available and perhaps where to find them. Similarly, subject guides will help you identify other sources on that subject. Examine the footnotes and reference lists for sources that may be relevant to your research.
Expand your family history search using the FFANs technique
Researching extended family, friends, associates and neighbours (FFANs) is one of the best way to expand your search to support reasonable and defensible conclusions. Sources about people associated with our family or a particular individual may contain information which helps you fill gaps, resolve inconsistencies or strengthen the evidence.
Read more about this technique in my articles:
- Five good reasons not to limit your research to your direct line
- Finding answers in a broader search
- How do you research beyond your direct line?
Gather leads from other people’s research
Most people are wary of using other people’s research, but if you use it carefully then it may provide valuable research leads.
Other researchers may have found sources that you did not find or thought of possibilities that did not occur to you. Potentially useful family trees or written histories are those that appear to be well-researched and are fairly comprehensive.
Read my article about using other people’s research, which provides tips for identifying useful research conducted by others.
Other people’s research does not provide answers. It provides a list of sources and draft conclusions to test. You should track down and examine the sources that they used.
Expand your list of sources using mind mapping
Mind mapping is a tool for visually displaying information and the relationship between the pieces of information. A central theme or idea is placed in the centre of the page and you work out from that point in all directions to create a diagram of related ideas, keywords, information and questions.
Mind mapping is a great way to generate more ideas about sources to examine, including different versions of a source from different repositories. If you are not familiar with using mind mapping in this manner, check out my article and Chapter 4 of my book, The Good Genealogist.
More information
For more of my articles about planning your family history, go to the Plan page.
For more of my articles on improving your search techniques, go to the Research page.
For my articles about analysing sources, go to the Analyse page.
Read more about this topic in chapter 3 of my book, The Good Genealogist.
Post last updated 15 June 2024
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