Do you keep a research log? If so, is it one big log or separate logs based on surname or location? Do you record all of the search terms you’ve used when searching a database, newspaper site or even google? I have to admit that I don’t.
Keeping a research log is one of the ‘skills’ that was drilled into me from my earliest days of doing research. I still have my original log that was kept in a spiral notebook. While researching at the Family History Library, I was encouraged to write down every roll of microfilm or book that I looked at. The library even provided forms for me to use. At times, I’ve even used the TASKS feature of RootsMagic 9 to log my research.
When I started going back thru my genealogy research as part of Thomas MacEntee’s Genealogy Do-Over, I was introduced to his research log using an Excel spreadsheet.
While I’m sure this log works, I felt it would become too cumbersome in my research. A search for alternatives provides several good resources about creating research logs.
- Research Logs – FamilySearch
- Why You Need a Genealogy Research Log – Family Tree
- Six Details to Keep in Your Research Log – Family Tree
- Essential Methods: Research Logs – New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
- My (very informal) Research Log – Organize Your Family History
Even though I’ve read and viewed a lot of resources about keeping a research log, I still do not keep a formal research log. Then I ran across the Family History Fanatics video stating I don’t need a research log.
That video intrigued me. And it made me realize that I do have a form of a “research log”. First, if I feel that a record contains information for someone in my tree, I add the appropriate fact and then attach a citation for that record. In the process of creating the citation, I use the Research Note field to add information from the source and/or a transcription.
While I’m actively researching, I use Scrivener to take notes. While these notes vary based on what I’m looking at, they often are ‘transcriptions’ of the information. For example, I use Scrivener to record the information from an index to deeds.
This allows me to research all the people of a particular surname in a specific place and time without having to know how they fit in my tree. As I discover enough about them to figure out where they fit in my tree, I can then add the facts and citations using what I’ve recorded in Scrivener.
Thus, when I received an email inquiry about a note I left on James Barr’s profile on FamilySearch last summer, I can go back to my Scrivener file and look at my research notes.
Currently, what little research I’ve done on James Barr has been in relation to his son-in-law, David Ralston. Thus, it is currently included in my RALSTON Scrivener folder. At some point, I will likely create a BARR Scrivener folder and copy the BARR deeds into that folder. Besides being able to record transcriptions, I can also create notes to guide future research.
While I’m not keeping a ‘formal’ research log, my use of Scrivener allows me to track my research of a family, surname or locality and return to it at a later date. In addition, Scrivener has allowed me to track my various FAN Clubs and people of the same name.
I have found a method of tracking my research that works for me. What about you? Do you have a method of tracking your research?
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I am much like you – I tried for years to regularly keep an official research log, but just couldn’t do it – too complicated and time consuming. Then I watched Jill Morelli’s LFT Webinar “Write As You Go! A Methodology for Efficient Report Writing”… and I adapted it to my own style – now each person I’m researching gets their own document in Atlantis (my word processor) and I record what I find about them as I work – citations, documents, links of interest etc. The docs are in .rtf format so they can easily be opened by other word processors if necessary.
When I found the same video on the Family History Fanatics YouTube channel, I realized I was doing much the same thing as Devon demonstrated.
From time to time, on a specific project, I will discipline myself and use the research log from Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer at Family Locket – I’ve done their 14 day research challenge a couple of times.
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