Articles with Methodology

Transcription Tuesday: Transcription Definition

As part of the online skill-building education at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies, new students, as well as professional genealogists, learn the importance of Transcribing every document they discover in their family research. Although it may take extra effort to make a transcription, the benefits will soon be apparent. How often have you left a document written in an older script for a few days, and when you returned to your research, you found that you needed to decipher the handwriting again? The first step is to make a copy of the original document and put it away. This is especially true for those of fragile materials. By using this copy to make a transcription, the text of a document can be worked on, while avoiding the wear and tear of the original document. Never write on an original; copies of documents can be marked with notes, highlighters, and notations for further examination and research, preserving the original document. First, let’s look at a definition. What is a Transcription? A transcription is a true, word-for-word rendering of a document with the original punctuation and spelling (i.e., an exact copy of the original, line by line, sentence by sentence, word by word, and letter by letter). All notes and marks on any page are copied as faithfully as possible in the presented formatting. It includes all spellings, capitalizations and punctuations as it was written. No corrections are made to spelling or capitalization. It includes the whole record—front and back, with all its headings, insertions, endorsements, notations, etc. By transcribing everything on a document, we don’t miss those important clues. We can have a tendency to skim over long blocks of text, or those oh-so-familiar boilerplate sections. By doing so, you could miss that slightly different instruction, or that note tucked in the middle of the text.  Transcribing forces us to record every single word (and symbol!) and explore why it was included, or used in that fashion. Transcriptions take obscure handwriting and reveal the contents in “plain English,” making it much easier to read and to tease out the finer details needing to be clarified. It can be a challenge, don’t give up! Sometimes, handwriting really does need letter-by-letter deciphering. Many letters can look the same; some letters may even be illegible. Some letters just need time. If they have you stuck, walk away and come back with fresh eyes…

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Business Skills Courses

Are you interested in developing Business Skills to take your genealogical research to the next level? The International Institute of Genealogical Studies offers a Business Skills Package that includes 18 courses to give students a good understanding of how to start and manage a genealogical business. Business Skills Courses – The Foundation – 4 courses Business Skills: Creating a Business Business Skills: Business Administration Business Skills: Establishing & Promoting Your Website Business Skills: Marketing Your Services & Products These four courses form the basic foundation to increase the skills needed for a successful business. The step-by-step process ensures you have covered all the requirements. From set up, to day-to-day management, to finding your online distinction, to letting the world know of your existence, your mandatory business practices will be covered. Business Skills Courses – Finding Your Niche – 2 courses Business Skills: Career Development: Choosing a Niche – Part 1 Business Skills: Career Development: Choosing a Niche – Part 2 An integral part of your Career Development involves Choosing a Niche. These two courses feature excellent suggestions for possible business opportunities available to genealogists. Course materials and assignments allow you to examine the requirements relating to a variety of research themes. After analyzing these results, you will easily see how you can draw from your own unique skill set to enhance your genealogical research strategies for your clients. Business Skills Package – Researcher Essentials – 12 additional courses Creating Genealogy Programs for Adults & the Younger Generation Demystifying Culture & Folklore Forensic Genealogy Genealogy Ethical Guidelines & Standards Genealogy Society Creation & Management Lecturing Skills Including Preparation Organising a One-Name Study Organising a One-Place Study Personal Historian: Telling the Stories Photography: Clues Pictures Hold, Editing, Digitizing and Various Projects Research: House & Farm Histories Writing for Genealogy: Articles, Blogs, Research Reports and so much more The remaining twelve courses in the Business Skills Package each focuses on a specific aspect of research or expertise applicable to many genealogists. Some of these subjects will expand on topics that were suggested in the two Niche courses. Whether taken individually or as part of this package, these in-depth courses instruct students in the prerequisites required to enter each area of a particular field with a genealogical emphasis. Genealogists currently have countless career options beyond simply completing client research projects. Explore your options as you investigate to see which program will suit your needs as…

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Follow us on Pinterest

Do you use Pinterest? It is a free social media website where you can create a collection of visual bookmarks on whatever topic you are interested in. This quickly became very popular, but…. Did you know that it is NOT just for Recipes and Crafts? You can actually use it for Genealogy! It can become a useful online tool. The International Institute of Genealogical Studies has a Pinterest account and you can follow us HERE. As you are researching online, you visit many websites while working on your research projects – how can you organize and keep track of them? Where can you keep them all in one place and have access to them wherever you are? In our Social Media Tools for the Wise Genealogist course, you will learn that Pinterest is a visual bookmarking website. It allows you to create “Boards” for various topics, which are like Bulletin Boards. You can “Pin” various website bookmarks to the appropriate topical board to be referenced later. These pins capture an image from that webpage and display it inside the board, along with a short description. The URL is linked so that when the image is clicked, that website will open. Boards are created with a title, which reflects your research topics and are usually displayed alphabetically. Inside your board, choose one of the pins with an image that best expresses what that board is about and save it to be displayed as the “cover” of that board. This provides a quick visual prompt as to what each board is about and builds a virtual library of your bookmarks. Pinterest Research Tips 1. When you pin all the websites you used for a specific genealogy project to one designated board, it is a great way to check back for all of the URL sources for your bibliography or reference materials.  2. When discussing a genealogy topic and you want to share a great resource site or database, you can quickly access it through the Pinterest app and share it on the spot. The International Institute of Genealogical Studies has created boards with links to many of our courses, packages and programs. For those who are visual learners, this is a way to quickly get an overview of what is being offered. New Boards and Pins will continue to be added until all of our courses are covered. Click on the course pins…

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How Far Back Can I Go?

Everyone’s Research is Different One of the most frequently asked genealogy questions is “How far back can I go?” This is a very difficult question to answer. Everyone’s research is different. Accessibility and the availability of documents as well as the possible destruction of records means that the answer to the above question might be different even for the same person tracing two different families on their tree. There are so many factors involved. Some will deal with your own family’s history and other factors may include the impact of local events. For example, if your ancestors were from the southern United States, the Civil War may have led to the destruction of some records. Fires have affected many records throughout history including the 1890 US Federal Census. You will find that, as you get involved in your new hobby, your parameters may change. You should initially be concerned with documenting the generations closest to you such as your parents and grandparents which will eventually lead you to “jump the pond” and research an immigrant ancestor. It won’t take long for you to notice that both the study of genealogy and the study of history are very closely related. Some find it to be a lifelong pursuit and the challenge is, no matter how far back you go, you can always attempt to go further. Through our “Methodology-Part 1: Getting Started” course you will discover more about this common question and how you can achieve your objective.  

Why did you Trace Your Ancestors?

Why would you want to trace your ancestors? Well, there are a number of good reasons, but let’s face it, most people trace their ancestors for curiosity’s sake. Others trace their ancestors because they want to know about their different ethnic backgrounds. Others want to trace their roots simply for an increased understanding of just who they are and where they came from. Someone else may need proof of their heritage to gain special benefits from their government. Tracing your ancestors should not be considered a tedious task. Do not think it’s an overnight project either. It could be a worthwhile hobby that you find interesting and fulfilling. There are many reasons why you may want to research your roots, but whatever your reasons are you will find that, as time moves on, what started out as an interesting little hobby will become a  passion and you will enjoy every minute of it. With our Methodology-Part 1: Getting Started course you will receive the knowledge and steps moving forward in your adventure.