The Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss what professional genealogists can do for you. We discuss hiring researchers to solve difficult problems in your family tree, writing a family history book, transcribing and translating documents, researching on-site, heritage trips, etc. We also discuss how to choose a professional genealogist and what you should expect. Let's get started! Links Links discussed in podcast Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) APG website - search for a professional by specialties APG website - search for a professional by geographic specialty Independent Researchers Available for Hire at the National Archives Credentialing Organizations: International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) Board for the Certification of Genealogists (BCG) Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy (CAFG) Family Locket Genealogists - learn more about hiring Diana and Nicole: Professional Genealogy Research at Family Locket Genealogists Research Project Prices at Family Locket Different Types of Research Services we offer at Family Locket Our Book and Courses: Research Like a Pro eCourse - registration available now and sale starts Wednesday Research Like a Pro Study Group - sign up for email notifications of next study group Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com 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 creating an account. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click "write a review." You simply provide a nickname and an email address that will not be published. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. If you leave a review, we will read it on the podcast and answer any questions that you bring up in your review. Thank you! Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

In our podcast episode today, I'm discussing my research project to discover the parents of Lucinda Keaton of Pendleton, Anderson County, South Carolina. Diana and I will review what I knew when I started the project, how I found clues leading to a hypothesis that her father was William Keaton of Pendleton District, South Carolina, and what records I searched to prove the hypothesis. We'll discuss each step in the research like a pro process, including my timeline analysis, locality guide, research plan, and so forth. The locality guide portion of my project was important, since the location I was dealing with changed names several times. The town of Pendleton was part of Pendleton County, then Pendleton District, then Anderson County. You'll hear all about how the research like a pro process was successfully applied to my research problem and what the results were. All the work samples associated with this project are available to those who purchase our book, Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide in our online work samples page. If you are interested in learning more about the Research Like a Pro Study Group and signing up for our email list with updates about it, click here. Links Genealogy Evidence Analysis – Free Template and Lucinda Keaton Sample Solving a Brick Wall with the Research Like a Pro Method - all about the Lucinda Keaton project Census Age Calculator at Tom's Tools Birthdate Calculator at OVS-Genealogy for use with tombstones or death certificates Birthdate Calculator at Parallax View Birthdate Calculator at Olive Tree Genealogy David Rumsey Map Collection - Map of Pendleton District, South Carolina Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com 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 creating an account. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click "write a review." You simply provide a nickname and an email address that will not be published. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. If you leave a review, we will read it on the podcast and answer any questions that you bring up in your review. Thank you! Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

In today's podcast episode, Diana and I are talking about continuing education in genealogy. Benjamin Franklin said, "an investment in knowledge pays the best interest." We discuss accreditation, the importance of keeping up with new methodologies and developments in the field such as DNA, and how to go about improving your genealogy education. Learning about records, localities, and methodologies are a good place to start. We also talk about setting goals, creating an education plan, books, webinars, conferences, institutes, blog reading, and other types of educational experiences. Links Some of these links are affiliate links, where we receive a commission if you click through the link provided. Thank you! ICAPGen - The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists Guide to Applying for an Accredited Genealogist® Credential Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy by Val Greenwood Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide by John Grenham GeneaWebinars Board for Certification of Genealogists - Proposed DNA Standards Record Types to Know by Region at ICAPGen Legacy Family Tree Webinars Cyndi's List of Online Courses or Webinars ICAPGen Youtube Channel Board for Certification of Genealogists Webinars FamilySearch Learning Center Mondays with Myrt Conference Keeper - list of genealogy conferences and events FGS Listings of Genealogy Societies Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree BYU Conference on Family History and Genealogy RootsTech National Genealogical Society (NGS) Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) Genealogical Institute on Federal Records at the National Archives (Gen-Fed) British Institute Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research Feedly - RSS reader for reading blog articles Top Genealogy Blogs at Feedspot Geneamusings by Randy Seaver National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) NGS Magazine The New England Historical and Genealogical Register Utah Genealogical Association Publication - Crossroads Research Like a Pro eCourse Sign up for Research Like a Pro Study Group and e-Course Email List Boston University Certification Program BYU Idaho Online Family History Degree BYU Family History Degree Postgraduate studies in Genealogical, Palaeographic & Heraldic Studies at University of Strathclyde Studying Genealogy: A Personalized Approach - Handout by Angela Packer McGhie, CGvia Utah Genealogical Association Boost Your Genealogical Education with RootsTech 2019 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 creating an account. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click "write a review." You simply provide a nickname and an email address that will not be published. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. If you leave a review, we will read it on the podcast and answer any questions that you bring up in your review. Thank you! Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

Today Diana and I discuss productivity and how to make the best use of your research time. We discuss various ideas including the pomodoro technique, using Google Keep, a 30x30 challenge for daily research in small increments of time, and using a time journal to notice what you spend time on and eliminate time thieves. Links Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com Make the Best Use of Your Family History Time by Diana Elder at FamilyLocket.com Pomodoro Technique via Wikipedia Google Keep Google Keep Mobile App Google Keep Browser Extension Google Tasks Mobile App 30x30 Challenge by Janine Adams at Organize Your Genealogy Daily Research Challenge 2016 by Nicole at FamilyLocket.com Tips for Researching in Small Increments of Time by Nicole at FamilyLocket.com My Thirty Day Challenge: How Researching 30 Minutes a Day Brought Discoveries, Joy and Clarity by Nancy Brown at FamilyLocket.com Eliminate Your Time Thieves and Free Up Family History Time by Diana at FamilyLocket.com 10 Ways Busy Parents Can Make Time for Family History by Nicole at FamilyLocket.com 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 creating an account. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click "write a reveiw." You simply provide a nickname and an email address that will not be published. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. If you leave a review, we will read it on the podcast and answer any questions that you bring up in your review. Thank you! Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss ideas for organizing genealogy papers, documents, electronic files, and more. We'll talk about how to choose a personal family tree software program and how to create backups of your research so they don't get lost or destroyed. Diana is going to talk about her story of receiving a suitcase full of unorganized genealogy papers from her father and how she dealt with that. We'll talk about favorite tools and what which tools we actually use, then ideas for additional methods that others use. Links The Suitcase: Getting Organized One Paper at a Time, article by Diana Personal family tree software programs: RootsMagic, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, Family Tree Maker, etc. Google Backup and Sync Google Drive Dropbox Locality Filing System:BYU-Idaho handout - Organizing Genealogical Research and Note Files by Jill Crandall OneNote Evernote Using Evernote for Genealogy Research, article by Diana Create Your Own Genealogy Reference Center with Evernote Evernote Web Clipper Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com 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 creating an account. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click "write a reveiw." You simply provide a nickname and an email address that will not be published. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. If you leave a review, we will read it on the podcast and answer any questions that you bring up in your review. Thank you! Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss a research project that Diana completed to determine if George W. Dillard was the father of our ancestor, Cynthia (Dillard) Royston. Here's the objective of the project: The objective of this research project was to determine if George W. Dillard born 1781 in Virginia and died 1854 in Lee County, Alabama was the father of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston. Cynthia was born about 1815 in Georgia. She married Thomas Beverly Royston about 1833 in Georgia or Alabama and died 2 August 1882 in Collin County, Texas. As we discuss this project, Diana is going to share how she came up with him as a candidate for Cynthia's father in pre 1850 census records, and how she created a timeline comparison for Cynthia and George. She will discuss how she did a land study to see if she could link Cynthia's husband, Thomas B. Royston, to George W. Dillard. We also discuss a great piece of evidence found in a list of letters left at the post office in a Georgia Newspaper from the 1830s. Listen to find out if Diana solved this case and how the Research Like a Pro process helped. To view all the work samples discussed in this case study, purchase our book, Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide, on Amazon.com, available in eBook or paperback. 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 creating an account. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click "write a reveiw." You simply provide a nickname and an email address that will not be published. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. If you leave a review, we will read it on the podcast and answer any questions that you bring up in your review. Thank you! Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

In today's episode of the podcast we are talking all about why you should write your results at the end of a research project. There are so many reasons, but probably the most important is that the act of writing about something helps you make connections and solve problems. And of course, it also helps you to leave the project knowing that you can pick it back up in a year and know exactly where you were when you left off. We will talk about choosing the correct voice. This depends on your reader. Then we will talk about the elements of a research report, including strategies for adding data in tables, footnotes, document numbering, subheadings, and so on. We will also be discussing the difference between creating a summary of findings and the conclusion. Links: Research Like a Pro Part 6: Write it Up SLIG Night at the FHL – Diana's Classes on Citations and Report Writing Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com Thank You Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Leave an honest review on iTunes or Stitcher. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss research logs. You know, that dreaded spreadsheet that you should keep when you're doing research. We will discuss a few different types of research logs, including Research Ties, spreadsheets, tables, paper logs, and the research notebook. We will also talk about how we normally use our research log in our workflow. Diana is going to talk about how she never feels like she's really doing research until she has her research log open and is recording her search results. We discuss the headings used in research logs and how to fill them out. Links: Research Like a Pro, Part 5: Where Did You Look and What Did You Find? Research Logs: The Key to Organizing Your Family History Research Ties - online research log with features for research planning, recording results, and document analysis Conferences mentioned in the podcast: BYU Education Week Professional Management Conference by the Association of Professional Genealogists RootsTech 2019 - article about the new Power Hour sessions at 9am RootsTech 2019 London Oct 24-26 Thank you Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Leave an honest review on iTunes or Stitcher. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

Today's episode is about source citations. We'll discuss when you need to make citations, how to do it, and the questions to ask that will guide you as you create them: who, what, when, where within, and where in the world. If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of making source citations you're not alone. Nicole tells about her experience really learning how to do it. Diana will tell us about layered source citations, and we'll also talk about the difference between reference notes and source list entries. To sign up for the Research Like a Pro eCourse, click here. Registration ends Aug 31. Also, we encourage you to purchase our eBook Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide on Amazon which is on sale at half price, $4.99, until Aug 31. Links Research Like a Pro, Part 5: Where Did You Look and What Did You Find? Source Citations: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Evidence Explained Website - Elizabeth Shown Mills' website with helpful articles and forum discussions about citation. Evidence Explained Facebook page Books These are affiliate links to Amazon. If you make a purchase through clicking the link, we receive a commission. Evidence Explained: History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills - the source citation "bible" Genealogy Standards by Board for Certification of Genealogists Mastering Genealogical Proof by Tom Jones - all about the genealogy proof standard Mastering Genealogical Documentation by Tom Jones - new book about how to cite all kinds of sources Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Leave an honest review on iTunes or Stitcher. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.

Today's podcast episode is all about why you need to start creating research plans for every project, and how to do it. There are fives steps: Create a document with objective at top, compile a summary of known facts, write a hypothesis, make a list of sources to search, then finalize a prioritized strategy. We will talk about the need to be flexible as we follow our research plans, since plans change once you find (or don't find) something! To sign up for the Research Like a Pro eCourse, click here. Registration ends Aug 31. Also, we encourage you to purchase our eBook Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide on Amazon which is on sale at half price, $4.99, until Aug 31. Links: Research Like a Pro, Part 4: What's the Plan? Doing a Genealogy Research Project from Start to Finish - Research project template, which includes the research plan template FamilySearch Catalog United States Record finder from the FamilySearch Wiki can help give you ideas for kinds of records to search for specific information. Some additional record lists include the Resource Checklist at the FamilySearch Wiki and the Free Genealogy Research Checklist by Thomas MacEntee at Abundant Genealogy 3 Reasons to Revisit your research - post by Diana at Family Locket about coming back to your research later after you have gained more experience FamilySearch Indexing Legacy Family Tree Webinars Becoming An Accredited Genealogist: Levels 2 & 3 Study Group – Session 2, Research Planning Thanks for listening! We hope that you will share your thoughts about our podcast and help us out by doing the following: Leave a comment in the comment or question in the comment section below. Share the episode on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Leave an honest review on iTunes or Stitcher. We value your feedback and your ratings really help this podcast reach others. Sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new episodes.