Document Analysis
Although this topic may be considered a bit more advanced, serious beginning genealogists would be so much further ahead if they knew this information starting out! When we run up against brick walls or just want to know more about a certain part of our ancestor's lives we need to revisit what we have already found. Often a thorough analysis of a document can give us more information or give us ideas about where to look for more information in other records. Document Analysis PowerPoint PDF Document Analysis Handout The GPS or Genealogical Proof Standard guides us to properly collect sources, cite them, analyze them, resolve conflicts we might find in them, and then make accurate conclusions based on them. When done properly any documentation found thereafter will not disagree with or change the conclusion. To begin, we need to focus our research into a single question. Then search for records that are relevant to that question. Next, we evaluate each document to determ