Before 2000, DNA was not a source genealogists had access to. Now there are over 29 million people in DNA testing databases. This is an enormous change. Like other sources available to genealogists before the advent of advanced technology, we still need to analyze these sources carefully, understand the context, and create research plans. Genealogy standards guide us in our efforts. Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS gave the lecture, “The Advance...
Do you regularly contact other genealogists when researching? Is there a feeling in today’s world that we don’t need to reach out to others because we can find everything we need on our own? Have the messaging systems at genealogy companies made it more difficult to get in touch with each other, even though advances in telecommunication in the last 40 years should make it easier? Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS...
Technology has made genealogy research more accessible, but how has it impacted our research habits? Depending on when you began your genealogy journey, you may have received your initial research training from family history websites and tree-building services. Searching in online databases and seeking information in record hints have created habits that many researchers now are trying to break. Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS gave the lecture, “The Advance of Research...
Genealogists have seen amazing advances in technology over the last 40 years. These advances have made many genealogical records more accessible and increased the speed of communication. But how has it affected our research habits? Do we fall victim to the random search-and-click hunting encouraged by the slot-machine effect? What can we learn from the pre-1980 era of genealogy research? How has the addition of DNA as a genealogically relevant source affected our research? Thomas...
How can genealogists know if they are using DNA evidence correctly to prove conclusions? What is required to meet the Genealogical Proof Standard when incorporating DNA evidence? Since the 2nd Edition of Genealogy Standards was published last year, I have been studying the new standards relating to DNA evidence, Standards 51-57. Then at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) last month, I had the opportunity to learn from Karen Stanbary and her team of...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about genealogy education opportunities, including attending genealogy conferences like RootsTech. Our guest, Amberly Beck, talks about her first experience at RootsTech in Salt Lake City and how Tom Jones’ classes impacted her. She also shares about her experience speaking at RootsTech London and some of the classes she liked there. After recording the episode, Amberly shared a great thought with us. She said, “Sometimes we love researching...
I have been studying citations for my Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) virtual class, Intermediate Foundations. Sara Scribner, CG, is our wonderful instructor. She gave us a suggested reading list about citations. I studied a few different articles by Tom Jones and Melinde Lutz Byrne, along with some parts of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills, to understand how to cite online images. One (relatively) new way is to use waypoints, or steps to take to...
