Just a few thoughts on the
Mastering Genealogical Proof study group at DearMYRTLE's community on Google+.
I have watched the discussion of
both Chapter 1 and 2 and wanted to get down some thoughts.
First a comment on the title of
this post.
Drifting to me is going along with
the flow.
It is a word mentioned in both of
the 2 study group sessions I have watched and I think it requires an
explanation for its use in this setting.
How many of us have started out
researching with one goal.
We find a record, but then get carried away on a
different tangent (and with so many online records now this can particularly
apply to online research).
It is so easy to become a
“genealogical drifter”.
If we learn anything from these
hangouts it should be how to avoid being a drifter or how to get the best out
of our research time by looking at our goals and assessing the information we
have found in a more consistent way.
I have not seen a copy of the book Mastering
Genealogical Proof as I live in the UK and felt that shipping costs would be
prohibitive. If an ebook becomes available or it becomes available to purchase
in the UK I hope to obtain a copy. It is currently available to order but is
not expected to ship until July.
So given the background and that I
have not seen the book what can I as a genealogist get out of these
discussions.
By understanding the principles
discussed in the book we set ourselves a guideline by which we can assess the
value of the information we find.
If we use the collect and review
approach correctly we can avoid looking for the wrong information in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
I think that this book may make
many of us think about how we do our research and it may turn the whole
research process on its head for many.
We all like to feel we are doing
things the right way but without discussion and good advice or training from
others more experienced or knowledgeable we may not be doing things in a way
that gives the best results.
We can all point out errors we
have made in our research, we have our failings.
The popularity of a group on
facebook called The Organized Genealogist and the postings within the group
show what a battle many of us have to be organized.
If you have to travel far and
maybe even need to stay overnight in order to carry out research or if you have
to pay someone to produce a copy of a record for you it is important that you
do the preliminaries with the utmost care so that you can make the most of
research time and order the correct piece of information. By understanding the
importance and relevance of our information sources we improve the whole
research process.
Looking at the contents pages for
the book the first 2 chapters lay down the foundations for the details
discussed in the later chapters. Without good foundations your work will
crumble so I will conclude my initial comments and review the 2 videos once
more for further comment.
Please read the book and the homework
answers submitted by the study group.
If you have not been following any
of the discussion you can catch up with it at http://www.youtube.com/user/DearMYRTLE/videos
and the comments can be viewed at https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/104382659430904043232?hl=en
where you will need to join the community to read the posts.
For more information about the
book and how to obtain a copy go to http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/mastering_genealogical_proof
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