Research Logs

 


If you say the word “research log” around genealogists, you will hear moans and groans.  The moans and groans are from guilt and from feelings of overwhelming incidental work.  We all know we should keep a research log, we all want to keep a research log, and we all have the goal to keep a research log.  Sometimes we will begin, but as I have found out, keeping up research logs ends up taking as much time as research.  Plus, there is the filing. . . the writing. . . recording results.  I have attended many classes about research logs and the benefits of regularly documenting my research goals.  I have kept the basic research log.  I have made my own research log.  I have used fancy research logs.  I have even tried the research log on my software program.

For a while, printing out a family group sheet and making notations as I researched each family worked exceptionally.  I found the problem after the research session, what to do with the research log?  I tried to keep the “research family group sheets” but I never filed them...ever.  So, I tossed them.  Next, I tried the research logs on my genealogy software, but I do not usually have my computer with me when I am researching.  So, I would have to enter all my results once I got home, which in addition to indexing and cataloging my new finds was too much work; so that did not work for me.

What did work are the Excel worksheets that I would regularly update as I do so much location research.  I have an Excel worksheet for Sweetwater County, Lincoln County, and Family History Library.  This has worked excellent, as I am able to “delete” the rows when I find my document and I am able to record if there is no document.  This has been valuable because I am able to keep a record of my “no results”.

When I applied for a business license, I decided I needed an improved way to keep track of my time, receipts, travel, etc.  I researched planners and bookkeeping.  As I was searching for something adaptable, I came upon research journals for genealogy.  I knew I needed more writing space than the typical day-planner, but I was not sure how to implement all of my needs into one book.  Then I researched the trendy journals people are currently keeping.  My first research journal was just a notebook.  That worked okay, but not well.  My second research journal kept my time, but other than an account of my time, lacked much usefulness.  My third research journal hit the mark and now I am ready to begin my fourth with great success!

I use a composition book because it is large enough to write on, but not too bulky to take everywhere with me.  In the front of the journal, I have an index.  When I take class notes, book notes, or I have a particularly complex research, I add it to the index.  Everything is listed chronologically, but with only 3 or 4 pages of index it is easy to scan through and find what I need.  Next, I have a calendar of birthdates and anniversaries.  One page has regularly used library hours, abbreviations I use in my research journal, computer shortcuts, and other frequently needed information.  I have a graph page of my monthly hours to keep me motivated and my end of the month statistics and tasks.  My monthly tasks include backing up my software, digital files, recording my travel and receipts.  Finally, I keep track of my statistics on the Facebook page and the Roberts Roots & Branches blog.  These pages help with motivation, they keep my business organized, and I am able to use for business analysis.

Each daily journal heading includes the date, the place, and specific project.  Each time I change projects while I am working, I add a new “project” title to my entry.  At the end of the day, I record my time in the left hand margin, making end of the month totals easier total.  When I travel, I write my mileage in the text and highlight it so it is easy to find when I am doing my monthly totals.  Another useful idea I found is writing each entry in a different color.  This makes searching so much easier because I can visually see the different colors for the different days.

Although, my research logs and journals have evolved, I believe utilizing Excel worksheets and research journals works the best for me and I continue to make any needed improvements.  A month ago, I watched YouTube videos on my genealogy software program about “to-do” lists and research logs.  I am trying again to use these tools adapted to my personal needs, along with my current tools.   

If you are trying to figure out and what research log will work for you, keep trying and do not give up.  Be creative and persistent in finding something that works for you.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walking Where They Walked: Park Hotel

Image
Park Hotel, Rock Springs, Wyoming, September 2013, RR&B 19 Elk Street, Rock Springs, Sweetwater, Wyoming The Park Hotel opened in 1914 and was the hub of Western Wyoming until the late 1950’s. It was the largest and most modern hotel in the city. Advertisements boasted of hot and cold water in each of its 38 rooms, twenty of which had private baths and toilets. The fourth floor was added in the 1920’s. The Park Hotel catered to commercial men and automobile tourists traveling the Lincoln Highway. The hotel had a boisterous barroom and a sedate restaurant with sparking white table cloths. Rock Springs Miner, 30 January 1914, page 1, Wyoming Newspaper Project online. One memory of the Park Hotel, is related by Thomas P. Cullen, “One summer afternoon while walking up Elk Street toward the C Street Crossing, my attention was drawn to the small crowd assembled near the north end of the Park Hotel. A slight man, of short stature, stood rolling up his pantlegs
Read more

What is a mortcloth?

A mortcloth, or pall, is a funeral cloth used to cover a coffin in the funeral ceremony or the deceased prior to burial.   The deceased’s family usually rented a mortcloth from the local church and after each use, the fabric was washed and readied for use again.   The word comes from the Latin word “pallium” meaning cloak. The Mortcloth case of 1792 begins:   “ For many centuries, and probably up to the 20th, the Church of Scotland was the sole supplier of mortcloths.   As the name would suggest, they were cloths used to cover the dead prior to burial, and after use, were washed ready for rehire. The Church hired these for a few pence, or in some cases loaned out these cloths, until the time of the funeral. The revenue raised by this service, typically around £40 pa, was distributed to the poor of the parish at frequent intervals.”   In the late 1780’s a local Society of Colliers decided to purchase and rent out their own mortcloths preventing the local church from making re
Read more

Bagillt, Flintshire, Wales

Image
Bagillt, Flintshire, Wales (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagillt) The parish of Bagillt was gazetted on 23 May 1844, having been created from the townships of Bagillt Fawr, Bagillt Fechan, Coleshill Fawr and Coleshill Fechan, which were formerly in the parish of Holywell. It is located in the Northern part of Wales. (Genuki, http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/FLN/Bagillt/index.html)   The 1841 British Census finds Margaret(2) Roberts, aged four years living with her parents and siblings in Bagillt, Flintshire, Wales. In 1831, J. Poole penned: "Bagillt is a bustling place, and will continue so, as long as her smelting and coal works go on in their present prosperous state. Well conducted boats go from this place to Chester every day; with a favorable wind, these little barks make the 17 or 18 miles in little more than two hours."   (J. Poole, Gleanings of the histories of Holywell, Flint, St. Asaph and Rhuddlan, 1831 as qtd.  in http://www.genuki.org.uk/
Read more