3 Simple Things to Remember When Researching Online Collections

7/22/2013

When searching a database collection online, don't just jump right in and start searching or browsing. You need to know exactly what you are looking at before searching a record collection.

For example, is it complete? 'Cause, hello?!?

If it's not complete and you start searching in it and you don't find what you are looking for even though you're pretty sure it should be there, then you might incorrectly conclude something you should not. Something erroneous. Like such-n-such database doesn't have it or maybe it doesn't even exist. A good example of this is when looking at a particular state's county marriages. If they aren't complete and don't include the county you need but others, that's not going to be real helpful to you and might even make you think, "Well, I've already looked for it in such-n-such database and I guess it doesn't exist." And that would not be true. It -- for whatever reason -- isn't in that database at the time you looked. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist and/or that it won't be there later.

Online databases usually {Read: They should.} include information about a particular collection that they have. And? They also tend to give you tips about how to look at the particular collection.

Remember: Stop and read about the collection before searching it for your genealogy. You need to know what you are looking at before you look. Click. Scroll. Read.

The below screenshot thumbnails show you how to find information about a collection on Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org, and findmypast.com. Just click on the thumbnails to view a larger image. {Like magic.}

Ancestry.com