cardinal sin: badly recorded research and now I'm stuck!

[Rachandgarry]

Hi all,

I've been absent for a while due to real life events, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr... and I'm just starting to pick up where I left off on my research a few months ago. The trouble is, I can't remember a thing! The good news is that all documents are saved to my computer in date order, and some of my research is typed on to Family Tree Maker but not all. I've just gone to a particular line and I have no idea whatsoever why I don't know some details. I don't even know where I've looked.

I could throw everything up in the air and scream (obviously at myself for being so stupid in the first place!)

Has this happened to anyone else, what did you do to solve it? Any ideas where to start?

Thanks,
Rachel

[skylark]

Thank you Rachel.....you have given me my one & only resolution for 2011...I fully intend to make a written note on WHERE I found my info from...I always think I will remember which site I have trawled but of course my memory lets me down EVERY time...so thank you for this timely reminder to make a note......

Margaret.

[clematised]

I keep a paper record of everything I find in a file with that family name on but I must admit to adding to the file without sorting it and they do become very untidy, and I will get around to tidying each of them but if ever I were to lose my computer history, I do have my private tree stored in Tribal Pages and notes on where the information came from in the notes box for each person.

Edna

[Little Nell]

Only today I was looking at some online Norfolk parish registers and when I went to transcribe my findings onto my PAF I found I'd already copied them some time earlier!

[Anne in Carlisle]

When I started, the excitement of finding things and the relatively small numbers of people meant that I though I would remember everything!!! How daft can you get!

Now (having had to redo lots of things) I make it an absolute rule to enter the source at the same time as the information. Even so I still don't enter exactly where in the source I found it . I'll just put something like "1851 census" or "Parish Record". My FH program makes it easy to record the source and I could enter loads more detail .... but I don't. I hope I won't later regret that decision!

Anne

[JBee]

Am with you on that I'm afraid - I write notes and then can't fathom them out when I get home!!!

If I can I try to get print-offs but its not always possible unfortunately.

[Christine in Herts]

For censuses I record the year and census ref (in full) for each entry. I used only to record as far as the piece-number, but then discovered that the lack of folio and page number caused problems when working back to check things.

If it's from the IGI, then I record the batch number.

If it's from some other source I try to make sure that I have some identifiable reference to follow up: Archive references (like the census refs); initials and membership numbers (or user-names) of fellow researchers; whatever looks as if it should narrow down the source adequately. If I'm making digital images at TNA, for example, I usually try to include that yellow docket - or enough of it to give the reference.

I always try to make sure that I note the source reference at the same time as making the entry. It didn't take me long to find that I wasn't remembering where I'd found things!

Christine

[Uncle John]

My research is done as scribbles on a sheet of paper, but I only tackle one family at a time. I then transcribe it into FTM straight away. I must admit that for censuses I just record the census date (and place if not UK) and address. Now that I have FTM 2010 I tend to put more in the notes than I did before. The bits of paper get recycled when OH says she wants to tidy the room.

[Darksecretz]

Rachel,

within FTM there is an option to source your findings when you enter them, I have used various incarnations of FTM, and never really bothered to source stuff, it wasnt until I really began looking at details and then I couldnt remember who I had found on which census, It has now become my task to find and source everyone in FTM, I am slowly winning that battle and any new families that I find, I source immediately so I dont forget.

[Anne in Carlisle]

Looks as if we all learned the hard way

Anne