| Day |
Session |
Title |
Description |
Instructor |
|
INTRO
10-10:30 AM |
Intro Session |
Take this opportunity to connect with your peers and gain insights into what exciting adventures await you this week. |
|
| Mon |
1
10:30 – 11:45 AM
|
The Genealogists’ Mindset: Problem Analysis and the Research Process |
It’s all about the mindset. Reliable answers to tough genealogical research problems require an analytical approach, critical thinking, thorough research, and discipline. This session will set the stage for understanding our research subject in the context of time, place, and relationships; thoughtful analysis and appraisal of information; integration and correlation of evidence from a variety of sources; and testing our hypotheses and written conclusions for assumption, bias, and alternative explanations—the principles on which the rest of this course are based. |
Powell |
|
2
12 – 1:15 PM |
Strategic Planning: Developing and Executing Effective Research |
When an answer eludes us, it usually doesn’t mean the evidence is unavailable. This session will focus on how to craft plans that help us solve challenging problems, including re-appraising results-to-date and using context and source research to identify potentially relevant records. We’ll also examine the thought process for refining and repeating our plans as we execute them. |
Reed |
|
3
2:15 – 3:30 PM |
Details and Context: Squeezing Evidence from Documents |
This hands-on session will explore the many layers of internal and external context that may affect how and if the information a document provides reflects reality and the evidence we can glean from it. The majority of this sessions is hands-on practicum based as we work in groups to ask questions of several example sources, squeeze as much information from them as we can, and consider where the information might lead us next. |
Powell/Reed |
|
4
3:45 – 5 PM |
Details and Context: Squeezing Evidence from Documents |
Continued from the previous session. |
Powell/Reed |
|
Study
5 – 5:30 PM |
Extra Session |
Small Group Strategy Session: Each day ends with extra time for a small group strategy session to brainstorm and strategize the next steps and apply what you’ve learned during the day to your own tough research problem. Groups will be organized by research area/topic of interest and/or expertise (if you don’t want to share your own research, perhaps you can help others!). |
Powell |
| Tue |
5
10:30 – 11:45 AM |
The Ties that Bind: Developing Identities, Correlating Clusters, and Proving Relationships |
Good genealogical research focuses on identities, not people. We need to recognize our research subjects not only by their name but through the context of their life, their communities, and their relationships. This session focuses on learning to recognize and correlate those threads of evidence that tie people together and help us to reconstruct their lives and prove relationships. |
Powell |
|
6
12 – 1:15 PM |
Widen the Net: Online “Fishing” Strategies for Finding Unexpected Information |
No matter how thorough our research plan is, sometimes the evidence we need hides somewhere we never expected to find it. This session will cover strategies for finding, evaluating, and piecing together information gleaned from various online sources, including the information we didn’t know to look for! |
Powell |
|
7
2:15 – 3:30 PM |
Managing a Complex Research Project and Writing as You Go |
Karen, Kimberly, and Patricia will share various approaches for organizing and managing an extensive research project, making good use of research notes as a tool for problem-solving, and writing as you go. Examples and demonstrated strategies will utilize various tools, including Word, spreadsheets, Scrivener, and even PowerPoint! Shared student strategies are also encouraged! |
Powell/Reed/Jones |
|
8
3:45 – 5 PM |
Managing a Complex Research Project and Writing as You Go—Continued |
Continued from the previous session. |
Powell/Reed/Jones |
|
Study
5 – 5:30 PM |
Extra Session |
Small Group Strategy Session |
Powell |
| Wed |
9
10:30 – 11:45 AM |
Simplifying Complexity: Tools and Strategies for Examining Information and Evidence & Developing Hypotheses |
In this hands-on workshop, we will dig into various tools for organizing and examining information and evidence—including timelines, tables, spreadsheets, and mind/concept maps, and explore which types of problems are best suited for each method. |
Powell |
|
10
12 – 1:15 PM |
Simplifying Complexity: Tools and Strategies for Examining Information and Evidence & Developing Hypotheses—continued. |
In this continuation of the hands-on workshop, we will continue the discussion and practice applying the strategies and tools to your own tough problem. |
Powell |
|
11
2:15 – 3:30 PM |
Obstacle Avoidance: Alternative Paths Around “Burned Counties and Evidence Gaps |
A lack of records doesn’t have to mean a lack of evidence. This session will explore some of the reasons for gaps in evidence—missing information or records, interpretation, bias, incomplete knowledge, and historical and cultural context—as well as various research strategies for recognizing and filling in gaps in evidence. |
Powell |
|
12
3:45 – 5 PM |
Mastering the Spreadsheet for Data Analysis & Correlation |
Learn how to manipulate collected spreadsheet data to uncover patterns and correlations you might otherwise miss. Use your own spreadsheet or the spreadsheets I will provide for hands-on practice as we walk through various strategies. |
Powell |
|
Study
5 – 5:30 PM |
Extra Session |
Small Group Strategy Session |
Powell |
| Thu |
13
10:30 – 11:45 AM |
Common Threads: Get to Know the Neighbors |
Learn how to correlate census records with tax lists, church lists, legislative petitions, road orders, historical maps, deeds, and other records to identify your ancestor’s closest neighbors and associates and “build” a cluster community for researching sticky problems. |
Powell |
|
14
12 – 1:15 PM |
Community Context: Get to Know the Neighborhood |
This session will explore a variety of creative strategies for locating an ancestor’s “neighborhood” on a map, plus methods for using historical and social data and laws to identify community patterns and pinpoint what is “normal” for the time and place. |
Powell |
|
15
2:15 – 3:30 PM |
Reconstructing a Revolutionary War Militiaman’s Family: Documentary Evidence |
Recollections, once proven incorrect, should be discarded…or should they? An error in a family record offered a clue to an ancestral surname. Sparse evidence to prove a parent-child link led to expanding the goal to reconstruct the entire family despite a lack of direct evidence for any of the seven proposed children. |
Desmarais |
|
16
3:45 – 5 PM |
Reconstructing a Revolutionary War Militiaman’s Family: DNA Evidence |
This session will expand on the previous lecture, illustrating the various strategies used to strengthen the sparse indirect documentary evidence by adding genetic evidence. |
Desmarais |
|
Study
5 – 5:30 PM |
Extra Session |
Small Group Strategy Session |
Powell |
| Fri |
17
10:30 – 11:45 AM |
Using DNA to Drive Documentary Research |
When documentary evidence seems to reach a dead end, DNA may help to suggest the next steps. In this session, we’ll explore creative ways in which the evaluation of the connections in and between shared match groups or clusters can be used to target potential individuals and localities for further documentary research. |
Powell |
|
18
12 – 1:15 PM |
Social Network Analysis for Genealogy |
Sometimes, you need to approach evidence with fresh eyes to make new connections. We’ll wrap up the week with a hands-on exploration of the possibilities of social network “cluster” analysis for documentary and DNA evidence using the free, open-source Gephi software. |
Powell |
