Do's
- Try and confirm events by documentary evidence. Remember GENEALOGY WITHOUT DOCUMENTATION IS MYTHOLOGY.
- Always use full addresses - town, state/county, country (many towns are duplicated across several countries).
- Share your research willingly and others will share their research with you - often saving you many, many hours of hard work.
- Contact all your family members and ask them for information regarding themselves and the family. A voice recorder is a great tool for this or get them to write their memories down.
- If you use information from another genealogist you should acknowledge the source. eg. Birth information courtesy of Joe Brown or photograph courtesy of Sue Black.
- Don't add guesswork to your tree - leave it blank if you are unsure or make a note on the person's page.
- Don't use information from other genealogists without their permission.
- Don't use christening/baptism dates as birth dates. Christenings can take place anytime after birth.
- Be careful when amending another researchers work. The information may not be accurate, but it may also be part of the family folklore.
- Don't add specific date(s) unless you are positive they are correct. Try and use terms like 'about', Circ', 'After' & 'Before' - eg. Circ.1900
- Don't delay asking your family for their memories - they may not be here tomorrow.
- Don't use scraps of paper - use a notebook.
- Don't believe all that is written. You should evaluate the source before deciding whether the information is accurate. if you are taking information from another genealogist always verify the detail - many researchers may not be as accurate/thorough as you are.
- Don't be misled by spellings. Often the same name can be spelled several ways. Always look for name variation if your first search is fruitless.
Do's
- Backup your genealogy file regularly - at least after every use. There are several good free backup programmes that can do this task - Just Google "Free Backup Programmes'. Try these: Karen's Replicator or the one I use SyncBack Freeware
- Backup your genealogy file to an external site - DVD, memory stck or internet site
- Always mark any person born within the last 100 years & who does not have a proven death as 'living'.
- When publishing your family tree on the internet always suppress details of living people.
- Always accredit information, photographs and images of documents obtained from other genealogists.
- Keep exact references for every item you search or copy.
- Keep a 'To-do List' of things you need to follow-up. (Legacy has an in-built 'To do List'.
- Use 'wild-card' search formats when searching internet databases as name are often misspelt.
- Try and publish you tree on as many web sites as you can. The more places your tree placed the greater your chance of making contact with fellow genealogist with similar interests.
- NEVER PUBLISH PERSONAL DETAILS OF LIVING INDIVIDUALS (INCLUDING YOURSELF) ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT FIRST OBTAINING THAT PERSON'S PERMISSION.
- Beware of web sites promoting family Coats of Arms. There is no guarantee that the Coat of Arms is related to your family as they were usually provided to specific people rather than to a surname.
Do's
- Set up a separate folder in you email programme for your genealogy messages.
- Retain your genealogy emails in a separate folder and backup the folder regularly.
- List your genealogy correspondents in your email address book and ensure you add their families of interest to a separate section of their address book (This will make it easier to identify researchers of specific family names).
- Don't send huge files as attachments to emails. Not everyone has huge in-boxes or high speed internet connections that ca handle big files. Try & keep you (image/photographs) to a manageable size - say, 400-800kb
- Don't pass on a family tree correspondent's email address to another researcher without permission.