Internet research

posted by Scott Andrew Bird

Whether you're just beginning to research your family tree or you've been involved in genealogical research for decades, understanding the benefits and limitations of internet-based research can help you enormously.

When you access the internet for the first time it quickly becomes apparent that you are faced with far more information - on just about everything - than through any other source. It may appear that libraries, record offices, museums etc have become obsolete. This is certainly not the case, in fact these places remain as important as ever with regard to genealogical research.

Benefits of using the internet for genealogical research

Think of the internet as a tool, not a replacement for other establishments such as libraries. One of the major benefits comes in the form of speed, as it is possible to quickly locate various information sources. You may be able to see which birth certificates are held by a particular library, record office or family history society; but you will still need to visit that establishment to obtain a copy of the certificate.

Another great benefit of internet-based research is the ability to communicate with your peers 24 hrs a day. This doesn't mean you should start anticipating phone calls at 3am from other researchers wanting to know the life history of their great-grandfather, simply that you can leave messages for others via forums, mailing lists, direct emails and instant messaging. You're likely to get a faster response than if you simply turned up at a monthly meeting of the local family history society and hoped someone there knew all the answers.

Thirdly you can publish your findings as they happen, obtaining invaluable feedback as your research progresses. Anyone with access to the internet can create a simple website (there are plenty of people who can help you do this) and add notes on their current research. Even if the research isn't deemed complete - it never really will be - it is often useful to let others know of your research interests and current findings. You may come across someone who has already researched part of the same family line, and is willing to share that information.

The negative side

So far things sound pretty good. There are, however a couple of things to bear in mind when using the internet for genealogical research.

Information on many sites is presented without reference to sources, and it may be based purely on guesswork. If you're not sure about a particular piece of information, email the author and ask politely if they know the source. If not, perhaps you should leave a question mark over it.

Remember that at some point all of the genealogical data on the internet has been entered by hand. This means that there is always the possibility of error, and this may compound errors and inconsistencies made at the time the data was originally collected. Items such as birth locations as recorded on death certificates are always based on the knowledge of other family members, who may or may not know the real answer.

Now you know a couple of reasons for using the internet in your genealogical research, let's look at a couple of ways to keep your research focused and valuable.

Plan your research goals

Before you even start hitting the search engines, forums and your email inbox, note down a few specific things you would like to find in that session. Try to restrict the list to things like 'how did so-and so die?' or 'on which ship did they sail here?' rather than 'who are all of my ancestors?'. Having specific goals will help you avoid distractions and locate information faster.

Study the locations

If you know your great-grandfather was born somewhere in England in the 1860s, try to find out where, and a little about the area. What were the major occupations in the area at that time? What sort of transport was available? Did they travel to a nearby village regularly? Why did people move to that area? Uncovering this sort of information will not only enhance your research it may help to delve a little further into your family tree. You may be able to contact family history groups for that area, most likely staffed by people with a much greater knowledge of the area and its history.

Use forums

Genealogy forums can be a great way of communicating with others who are researching the same surname, or perhaps the same location. Use them to ask specific questions or to help out others by giving them the benefit of your research. Forums are also great places to find people willing to help out by looking up specific information in census lists, marriage registers and other documents. Just remember to provide as much specific information as possible, rather than request a search for the name Jones somewhere in England.

Find other sites researching the same surname

It's always useful to identify the research that's already been done before you embark on an ambitious new project. Have a look at some of the listings of other sites containing information on the surname you are tracing. There are plenty of sites that will help you with this, and most sites contain links to other sites that were useful during the research process.