Explaining Evidence

1. You have conducted a reasonably exhaustive search of the suggested records. This means you have examined a wide range of high quality sources. By doing so this minimizes the probability that undiscovered evidence will overturn a too-hasty conclusion.

2. You have maintained complete, accurate citations of the work performed in order to demonstrate the extent of the search and the quality of the sources searched. By doing so this allows others to replicate the steps taken to reach the conclusion.

3. You have listed, analyzed, and correlated conflicting information that facilitates sound interpretation of the data contributed by each source. By doing so this ensures that the conclusion reflects all the evidence including something that might show up as disproving the research if not reported at the outset.

4. You have made a resolution of conflicting evidence, or prepared a statement of resources that would substantiate the conclusion’s credibility if more time were allowed.

You will now prepare a report of your findings to someone else. Your conclusion should be soundly reasoned, and coherently written so that it will eliminate the possibility that the conclusion is based on bias, preconception, or inadequate appreciation of the evidence. By doing so you will explain how the evidence led to the conclusion.

Click here to see a sample report

Now is the time to prepare the bonafide fulfillment of a genealogist’s pay! The executive summary for the client of clients! The combined overview of a semester’s work. Now is the time to discover for sure how:

A. Good source citations assist in good correlation of the evidence.
B. Research Planners or Logs can bring order out of note keeping chaos.
C. Organizing and documenting AS YOU GO, make this final project a breeze.
D. Writing the final summation is easiest when all sources are cited that were found for each event in the individual’s life, and that information is put into chronological order.
E. Picking out unreliable sources is much easier when everything else is in order.

Remember: Research Logs and Planners (and in this case, your old homework assignments) can remind you of why you did what you did and your findings as they also:

1. Track sources and progress
2. Show research strategies
3. Re-start research after a pause
4. Avoid redundant searches
5. Show negative evidence

Organizing as you go, should make this final project rather pleasant and challenging. Remember:

1. Photocopying the new source document.
2. Identifying the source on the front margin of the photocopy.
3. Writing your own document filing number on the back of each photocopy.
4. Logging the document number, and summarize events - people you found on all appropriate research logs.
5. Transferring every piece of new data from the source to the appropriate individuals and family groups.
6. Entering new source notes for every piece of data on the source, even if that event already has a footnote.
7. Adding a preliminary assessment of the data’s reliability as a note comment when necessary.
8. Printing the updated family group to check for errors or omissions before throwing away those handwritten notes.
9. Filing the updated family group, and source photocopies appropriately in the proper places.

Now you merely need to put the pieces together in one paper of not more than ten pages. If you can report in five pages, even better! Remove that which is not totally relevant to the goal. Many of the homework assignments were full of ideas for how to search records, which records to search, and what records should contain what information, but now is the time to show your advanced skills. Advanced researchers use the same sources as all genealogists, they just know how to explain that use differently!

Download assignment 15 to understand this report and peer review process for your final semester-end report.