Eddie Thomas’ Records of Research Spreadsheet, for recording records searched. This is what Eddie says about it.
My preferred method is to use Excel. I have created a Record of Research spreadsheet with the following headings:
- Surname (at birth)
- Christian Name(s)
- FHID (Family Historian Identity)
- Object of Search (e.g. locate entry in 1871 census)
- Records Searched (e.g. transcripts of 1871 census)
- Location of Records (e.g. Society of Genealogists)
- Successful (Y/N)
- Remarks (e.g. possible matches, neighbours who may be related, etc)
- Date of Search
I have two Excel workbooks for this purpose – maternal and paternal. Each workbook contains separate sheets for each letter of the alphabet. Thus entries for Jones are made under J, Smith under S, etc. If, for example, I am searching for John Smith in the 1871 Census, and I have to reference several different sources in different locations, then I enter each search as a separate entry.
I have filters on the columns, which makes searching almost effortless.
Also, after I make fresh entries, I sort by Surname, Christian Name(s), and FHID (using Data > Sort).
Produced by admin (03/06/07)
Link: Spreadsheet: Records of Research