The Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about creating reference note citations for your genealogical sources. In this fifth part of our revisiting the Research Like a Pro steps series, we discuss crafting citations the first time you look at a source and saving that in your research log (which we will discuss next week). Following your research plan, creating citations, and research logging all...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about research planning. How do you know which sources to search? It comes from the work you've done previously. You have reviewed all the known information and organized it chronologically. You have reviewed the locality and what records are available. Now create a hypothesis and think of records that could test it. Brainstorm a list of sources to search...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about locality research. As we revisit the steps of the research like a pro process, we are discussing Diana's project about Nancy Briscoe. Nancy lived in several places, but this objective focused on her early years, during which time she lived in Arkansas and Missouri. Diana created two simple locality guides for two Missouri counties and used the Arkans...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the second step in the research like a pro process - timelines and analysis. This is where you gather everything you know about the objective - previous research, known information from published trees, etc. You compile it into a timeline, then analyze each piece of information for reliability. We talk about source, information, and evidence analysis...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is the first in our new series of revisiting the research like a pro steps. We start with discussion he beginning of any research project: objectives. Diana shares her research objective for a project we will be following through this series: The objective for this project is to discover more about the life of Nancy E. Briscoe, born 7 February 1847 in Benton...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about how FamilySearch hints can point you to new record collections you may not have known about. We discuss some essential considerations for using hints and suggestions for doing additional research after attaching a hint. Links The Value of Family Search Hints by Diana Research Like a Pro eCourse Study Group - more information and email list Research L...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the FamilySearch Family Tree and how to add your conclusions in a way that meets the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). We go through each of the 5 elements of the GPS and discuss the opportunities in the tree to provide source citations, reason statements, and written conclusions.  Links How to Improve the FamilySearch Family Tree by Applying the Ge...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the second portfolio element for certification: development activities. In this element, you list the genealogy-related activities that helped you prepare for certification. We discuss several educational opportunities and how they help you learn more about genealogy standards, records, and methodology. Links Board for Certification of Genealogists (...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about copyright and plagiarism for genealogists. Have you ever wondered what the rules are for using others' work? When is it ok to use works whose copyright may have expired? How can you know if sharing something in your family history book or blog is fair use or not? Come listen to our discussion of these important topics. Links Plagiarism and Copyright...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about how to find clients as a professional genealogist. We share all our marketing tips, from content marketing to networking with other genealogists. Listen in as we discuss our experience in finding clients. If you would like to see all our tips in written form, be sure to download our handout below.  Links 10 Ways to Get Clients - Marketing Tips for Pr...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about how to deal with the documents you acquire in your research. For client projects, we typically arrange the documents that correspond with a research report into a PDF file with each image copy labelled and a citation attached. We discuss how to do this with Canva and Word. We also discuss downloading images, naming protocol, organization, copyright,...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about managing your family trees. Do you have your tree on several websites as well as your software program? How many places do you need to put your tree? Join us as we discuss the purpose behind sharing a family tree online, having a working tree, and using trees as tools for DNA research.  Links 3 Reasons to Have Personal Genealogy Software and How to C...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about using RootsWeb and FamilySearch Genealogies to view family trees that users have uploaded to the internet. These resources are helpful in your "literature survey" - the search you do at the beginning of a research project to determine what has already been uncovered about a research subject. Join us as we discuss our experience with using these free...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about portfolio element four: the research report prepared for another person. To apply to the Board for Certification of Genealogists you  must submit a research report that meets standards. You cannot submit a report that focuses on your own ancestors. Listen in as we discuss the requirements, best practices for reports, and the rubrics for grading this...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about creating layered citations for images found on the four major genealogy websites: Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and Findmypast. We discuss how to separate the digital layer from the physical layer, and the five elements of a source citation. We discuss what element to lead with and how to find the details you need to include. Links Peeling Back...

Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com Research Like a Pro eCourse Study Group - more information and email list Thank you Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Share an honest review on iTunes or Stitcher . You can easily write a review with Stitcher, without creat...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about proof arguments. We discuss different types of proofs, including proof statements, proof summaries, and proof arguments. Then we discuss the requirements for the case study element of the portfolio for certification and go over the rubric indicators that show if a case study has met the standards. We talk about resources for helping you with proofs a...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is a celebration of our 100th episode! We are excited to share our top ten tips about how to research like a pro. We put the list together based on the questions we are most commonly asked in study groups and in our Facebook group. Listen in to find out more about objectives, timelines, locality guides, hypotheses, researching in phases, layered citations, mu...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the Kinship Determination Project (KDP), the narrative family history work sample created for your Certification portfolio submitted to the Board for Certification of Genealogists. The KDP element shows your ability to prove parent-child links as well as tell the story of a family in their unique place and time. There are three formats of narrative f...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about finding records for the friends, associates, and neighbors of your ancestors in archives. Melissa Barker, the Archive Lady, teaches us all about archives. Tune in to learn more about different types and levels of archives, what you might find there, and best practices for using them. Links What Your Ancestor's Neighbors Can Tell You - handout by Meli...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about what to do after you have finished all the RLP with DNA steps. Robin Wirthlin, genetic genealogist, joins our discussion. If you haven't reached a proven conclusion, you'll want to start on the next phase of our research. Choose a sub-objective to work on next - maybe you have a hypothesis to test and see if you can eliminate. We also discuss DNA blo...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about organizing and keeping track of the names you find on records that don't fit into your family tree. The friends, associates, and neighbors of your ancestors are important to know and research, but where do you record your findings? Can you add them to your family tree software? We discuss this question and more. Tune in to hear how you can organize y...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the FAN club. When you research your ancestors, do you pay attention to their neighbors on the census? The bondsmen, godparents, witnesses, doctors, and people with the same occupation? These all make up the friends, associates, and neighbors of your ancestors. Researching the FAN club is a strategy Diana and I have used often in our own research and...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about pensions given to soldiers of various U.S. conflicts. Our guest, Michael Strauss, AG, discusses each war, the kind of pension records that are available to veterans and survivors, and where to find them. Join us as we talk with Michael about this substantial federal record group. Links Prologue Magazine - National Archives Publication Genealogy Resea...

Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about a research project Nicole did for a client in the 19th century in England and New York. We discuss each step of the research like a pro process and how it helped find a solution. Join us as we discuss the known information, creating a research plan, finding candidates, and eliminating them until only one remained. Links RLP eCourse coupon code: RLP89...