As I take on more projects for others, I'm discovering that there is much to be found on the Internet specific to their family that they have not found. I'm also discovering that most do not have a specific research goal. My prior profession prepared me well for discussing what they know and pinpointing what they want to find out, but I find I'm struggling a bit with how best to approach the research. Most of my potential clients live locally and are searching in areas far removed from where we live, which may be the opposite situation from many of you. Answers to the following questions will depend upon the nature and complexity of the research problem and the desires of the client, but in general: (1) Is it appropriate to first exhaust the "low-hanging fruit" on the Internet?  What if that takes most, if not all, of the time for which we have contracted? For a widely mobile family, is it common for the first block (or two) of time to be spent primarily on review of prior work and Internet research?   (2) Assuming a complex problem and little prior research, am I in error to think that filling in the blanks to obtain at least b, m, and d info for the target couple and their children should be toward the top of the research plan, even if that data is initially from derivative online indexes? In other words, how narrowly or broadly do you plan the initial research block? Do you concentrate on just one or two record types and obtain the originals, or do you concentrate on creating a general outline of the family (target couple and their children) from which research in original records can proceed?   (3) What do I do with information I happen across that is obviously about the family, but not directly relevant to the research goal? Example:  The goal is to identify mother's maiden name, so my plan includes obtaining obituaries for the children.  I found the obituary for a son at GenealogyBank, but in the same search results, I noticed a later publication containing a legal description of property owned by the deceased.  My client is not descended from this son; the information might become relevant later but is not relevant now. It would be time-consuming (and potentially confusing to the client) to process and include this newspaper clipping in the report, but I'd feel guilty if I ignored it. Connie Sheets Phoenix  

Must be something in the desert air, but I have a similar "issue." And, maybe this isn't a good idea. Last week, at a function that included a "silent auction," I noticed that some people were offering up "services" for bid. It occurred to me (as an inveterate genealogist recruiter) that I could offer up some "genealogy related" service, that does not involve travel. As I thought, issues such as Connie mentioned came to me. How would the auction item read? In time elements? What is "an hour's worth of basic research" (or two hours, whatever) -- spending the time scouring the usual suspect websites (Ancestry.com, GenealogyBank, etc.) for "low hanging fruit", or, spending significant time interviewing the winner, and then doing the research? How about "product" -- It's hard to specify a specific, say "three generations" report, without knowing the back story of the bidder. Even though, as the donor, I'm not receiving anything (other than the experience, invaluable) for this, the winner, having expended "much" money on the donation, expects "much" in return. Maybe more than "much." I know I can specify the services -- "using available internet resources and the basic information provided by the winner, I will provide a report, including cited sources, of information on the family . . . " -- and there I stop. What parameters are appropriate here? Without putting in two pages of "where-as"s. I want to do something here, to support the charity, but I really don't want hard feelings if someone, say my friend Mary Anne, who immigrated from Germany about forty years ago, wins the auction, and I have no particular expertise in, or access to, German records. I don't want someone to request a connection to Charlemagne, or "prove" a family myth. Has anyone ever done this? If so, how? Pat Dunford Tucson -----Original Message----- From: transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Connie Sheets Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2012 9:34 AM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: [TGF] Research Planning for Clients and the Internet As I take on more projects for others, I'm discovering that there is much to be found on the Internet specific to their family that they have not found. I'm also discovering that most do not have a specific research goal. My prior profession prepared me well for discussing what they know and pinpointing what they want to find out, but I find I'm struggling a bit with how best to approach the research. Most of my potential clients live locally and are searching in areas far removed from where we live, which may be the opposite situation from many of you.. . . . Connie Sheets Phoenix  

Being in the Salt Lake City area, I've never had a local client, and all research locations are far away (I don't do Utah research). For your questions. 1. It depends on the extent of their research, and how many hours they gave you on how much of the first session is spent in review. Most of my clients have typically exhausted Ancestry.com, and I don't spend much time there. Many, though, are not aware of the digital scans on FamilySearch, (both those indexed and unindexed) although I expect that knowledge to go up. Most have also not examined digital scans on state archives, county websites, etc., and are also not aware of those. As Harold said, what I might think of as low-hanging fruit may be out of the vision of the client. That's why they hired me, for my knowledge of available records, whether on the Internet, published books, microfilm, or those available only locally, for which I might need to contact a local researcher to examine. 2. It all depends on the client goal(s). Doing mostly southern research, and mostly before 1850 (the point at which clients tend to get stuck) there are no civil birth or death (and depending on location) no marriage records. 3. In things that are not relevant to the *present* goal, I make a note in the research calendar. In your example I would list GenealogyBank under the source column, and the note column would mention there is a legal description of land for the deceased. Not everything in the research calendar is discussed in a report. A cover letter will mention that, and that they should review everything in the research calendar. Rick Saunders -----Original Message----- From: Connie Sheets Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2012 10:34 AM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: [TGF] Research Planning for Clients and the Internet <snip> (1) Is it appropriate to first exhaust the "low-hanging fruit" on the Internet?  What if that takes most, if not all, of the time for which we have contracted? For a widely mobile family, is it common for the first block (or two) of time to be spent primarily on review of prior work and Internet research?   (2) Assuming a complex problem and little prior research, am I in error to think that filling in the blanks to obtain at least b, m, and d info for the target couple and their children should be toward the top of the research plan, even if that data is initially from derivative online indexes? In other words, how narrowly or broadly do you plan the initial research block? Do you concentrate on just one or two record types and obtain the originals, or do you concentrate on creating a general outline of the family (target couple and their children) from which research in original records can proceed?   (3) What do I do with information I happen across that is obviously about the family, but not directly relevant to the research goal? Example:  The goal is to identify mother's maiden name, so my plan includes obtaining obituaries for the children.  I found the obituary for a son at GenealogyBank, but in the same search results, I noticed a later publication containing a legal description of property owned by the deceased.  My client is not descended from this son; the information might become relevant later but is not relevant now. It would be time-consuming (and potentially confusing to the client) to process and include this newspaper clipping in the report, but I'd feel guilty if I ignored it. Connie Sheets Phoenix

Connie -- Excellent hard-core questions. Since the folks you're working with are local it may be easier to discuss some of these matters up front. My tentative thoughts: (1) Yes, if it's OK with them. What's low-hanging fruit to you may be out of their vision. (2) May depend on the situation. Actually this is a great research question in general. I don't see anything wrong with collecting the readily available clues first, but in some cases I would worry that a very green client might see that you've filled in the bmd and say, "OK, great, we're done!" (3) Why not include an appendix to the report clearly labeled something like "potentially useful family information not currently relevant" so that both you and they could explore it if it ever does become relevant? Harold On Sun, Oct 21, 2012 at 11:34 AM, Connie Sheets <clsheets1@yahoo.com> wrote: > As I take on more projects for others, I'm discovering that there is much > to be found on the Internet specific to their family that they have not > found. I'm also discovering that most do not have a specific research goal. > My prior profession prepared me well for discussing what they know and > pinpointing what they want to find out, but I find I'm struggling a bit > with how best to approach the research. Most of my potential clients live > locally and are searching in areas far removed from where we live, which > may be the opposite situation from many of you. > > Answers to the following questions will depend upon the nature and > complexity of the research problem and the desires of the client, but in > general: > > (1) Is it appropriate to first exhaust the "low-hanging fruit" on the > Internet? What if that takes most, if not all, of the time for which we > have contracted? For a widely mobile family, is it common for the first > block (or two) of time to be spent primarily on review of prior work and > Internet research? > > (2) Assuming a complex problem and little prior research, am I in error to > think that filling in the blanks to obtain at least b, m, and d info for > the target couple and their children should be toward the top of the > research plan, even if that data is initially from derivative online > indexes? In other words, how narrowly or broadly do you plan the initial > research block? Do you concentrate on just one or two record types and > obtain the originals, or do you concentrate on creating a general outline > of the family (target couple and their children) from which research in > original records can proceed? > > (3) What do I do with information I happen across that is obviously about > the family, but not directly relevant to the research goal? > Example: The goal is to identify mother's maiden name, so my plan > includes obtaining obituaries for the children. I found the obituary for a > son at GenealogyBank, but in the same search results, I noticed a later > publication containing a legal description of property owned by the > deceased. My client is not descended from this son; the information might > become relevant later but is not relevant now. It would be time-consuming > (and potentially confusing to the client) to process and include this > newspaper clipping in the report, but I'd feel guilty if I ignored it. > > > Connie Sheets > Phoenix > > > > > > > > > > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive > environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to > professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Harold Henderson midwestroots.net Research, Writing, and Brickwall Dismantling from Northwest Indiana Regularly Researching at the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center Certified Genealogist (SM) No. 1029 Certified Genealogist and CG are proprietary service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists® used by the Board to identify its program of genealogical competencyevaluation and used under license by the Board’s associates.

Connie - good questions. Personally I trust nothing told to me by the client. So, if the quest pertains to the client, then I always obtain the birth certificate of the client, together with the certificates of marriage and birth (and death if appropriate) of the parents - and back as far as possible. So - in answer to your questions: 1) Low hanging fruit. Yes - but be aware of possible red-herrings. 2) Immediate client family - yes (see above) 3) Potentially irrelevant data. Gather and store for possible future work. In asking (1), you asked whether you should gather even if it took up most of the time. I suggest that, if gathering low-hanging fruit takes such as high percentage of the time, then the time you quoted is not enough. My understanding of low-hanging fruit is that it wouldn't take more than a couple of days (max) to harvest. In saying the above, I may have miss-understood what you said. If so - I apologise. Chris

Thank you to everyone who responded publicly and privately to my questions. You've given me good ideas to think about. It's always helpful to see other perspectives. Connie