Finally, it is time to place all the information you have learned into its appropriate context with the other clues you have found. We call this "reorganizing the information" and it is Step Eight in the Research Cycle. This is where a computer program comes in so handy. This is why we will begin the process of computer data entry in upcoming lessons—after we have organized our materials onto written forms for deeper analysis.

It is not the purpose of this course to cover all the aspects of genealogy computer programs. That is rather impossible because it could take a course on its own to do that even for one major program. But it is the purpose of this course to cover the basics of a genealogy computer program's possibilities.

Using a genealogy computer program is such a vital tool for a researcher. Unfortunately we only have one program for MAC users who do not have a window's emulation program. There are several windows-based programs of note we could use. We have selected a free program for students to begin their data entry because this program uploads easily to all other programs if and when the researcher decides to upgrade.

Some of you have years of accumulation and others may need some time to round up what few particles you presently know about to meet your personal research goals. This course requires you to do an excellent job of entering only three generations. You are certainly allowed to go beyond that, but may we suggest you limit you work to three or four generations that are excellently done as a pattern for your future work.

You will be graded on only three generations even if you enter much more. You can select which three families upon which to be graded but they must be linked together. For example, it could include yourself, your parents, and your grandparents.

In the past, students have liked to go as far as they could back to the 1850 time period because those are the record groups we will cover this semester. But some students come from immigrant families and to find information as far as their grandparents is a stretch.

It is understood that three generations could mean, yourself, your parents, and two sets of grandparents and that would be four families. This is correct, but you will be graded on just three properly connected, properly sourced, documented, and evaluated three generations.