Basic Methodology

Optional Print Course Material - Methodology 1 - Getting Started

Optional Supplies: 9 Generation Pedigree Chart 

This introductory course tackles the common questions: “Why trace our ancestors?”, “How far back can I go?” and “How do I proceed after I’ve talked to my family?” Participants will immediately start filling in their Family Group Record (or Individual Family Form) and their Pedigree Chart(or Ancestral Chart).

Optional Print Course Material - Methodology 2 - Organizing and Skill Building

*Course materials will only be sent to students who are registered in the course

Methodology-Part 2: Organizing and Skill-Building has two underlying themes. One is to help you organize your paperwork and all the other documents or family material you will be collecting. 

The second theme reviews the subjects of sources and information, and evidence.

Optional Print Course Material: Electronic Resources: Using The Internet

*Course materials will only be sent to students who are registered in the course

This course will introduce the myriad ways the Internet can support our family history research efforts. Ways to prepare before conducting research and identifying different categories of websites useful to genealogists. Harness the power of the collaborative web and social media, and how we help increase the amount of genealogical information available online.

Optional Print Course Material: Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting, and Extracting

*Course materials will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

This Skills: Transcribing, Abstracting & Extracting course enriches your skills, knowledge, and training through the course reading materials, practicals, and assignments to improve transcribing, abstracting, and extracting capabilities.

Note: Our students are studying different courses or countries, and many examples of documents from around the world are used to give as much experience of the differing formats and types of documents.

Note: this course requires compulsory material to be ordered. The book Board for Certification of Genealogists, Genealogy Standards, 2nd edition revised (Nashville, Tennessee: Ancestry, 2021) can be purchased at GenealogyStore.com

Optional Print Course Material: Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program – Part 1

*Course materials will only be sent to students who are registered in the course. Additional Optional Supplies: 

1. Mills, Elizabeth Shown, editor, Professional Genealogy: A manual for researchers, writers, editors, lecturers and librarians (2001; reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 2012).
2. Rose, Christine, Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case, 4th Edition Revised (San Jose, California: CR Publications, 2014).
3. Cite Your Sources Package - Includes Elizabeth Shown Mills' Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian, QuickSheet: Citing Ancestry.com Databases & Images Evidence! Style, QuickSheet: Citing Online Historical Resources Evidence! Style, and QuickSheet: Citing Genetic Sources for History Research Evidence! Style.

The Analysis & Skills Mentoring 1 has four prerequisites in the Basic Level courses. Instructional mentoring is provided during two individual consultation appointments. This course is in a different format than most of our other courses. Although this is a 26-week course, it means you have up to six months from the start date to submit all the assignments, and the private one-on-one consultations. Many students complete this course in three months or less.