South Bay Cities Genealogical Society

Promoting Genealogical Education and Research in Southern California's South Bay

Beginner's Basics

GPS for Your Family

by Connie Moretti

The genealogical GPS can help you to navigate the maze of history, just as that GPS on your dashboard helps you to navigate unfamiliar streets.

Our family history GPS is the Genealogical Proof Standard and its careful use can help us to be sure that we have compiled a reasonably correct family tree. We start using our GPS by deciding where we want to go. For family history this is identifying our research goals; what question do we want to answer or what statement do we need to prove?

Then we are off to the step-by-step directions. For the genealogical GPS, these are:

1. Search and Cite
2. Analyze
3. Resolve Conflicts
4. Proof Argument

Let's examine these genealogical compass directions:

1. Search and Cite — we need to conduct reasonably exhaustive searches in reliable sources for all pertinent information. These sources may include copies of official documents, collections of abstracts by respected researchers, extracts from official records made by competent extractors, and well documented genealogies. It is important to create a complete citation for each of these sources. Complete citations give our work credibility and allow others to place confidence in our results.
2. Analyze — we need to analyze our collected information in order to determine its quality as evidence to answer our question. Is it an original record made at or very near to the time of the event recorded or is it a derivative report based on someone else's memory or conclusions? Is it primary information supplied by a participant or secondary, second-hand information from a non-participant? The results of our analysis allow us to determine how much value to place on each item.
3. Resolve Conflicts — when the information we have collected seems contradictory, we must arrive at a resolution of these discrepancies. We rely on our analysis to assist in this process. Generally we go with primary information from original sources, however a collection of indirect evidence may be just as valuable. At times primary information can be in error as when a name is misspelled on a document, or the familiar error of writing the wrong date after the turn of the year. Your resolution will take into account all these facets of data.
4. Proof Argument — an often overlooked step that gives greater value to our work. In a computer genealogy database, this can be an excellent use of the notes feature. Take the time to explain why you have come to the conclusion presented, list the known resources and explain your resolution of conflicting information.

Using GPS for genealogists will help all of us to compile valuable and reliable family histories. For a useful roadmap of Genealogists' GPS, visit "How to Structure Your Research" and scroll down to view a graphic originally by Mark Tucker.

[First appeared in The Beacon, September/October 2009. Edited September 2018: Marc M. noticed that the link to the original site for the roadmap graphic was no longer usable, and graciously allowed us to reference a guide page on Genealogy Explained, which has a copy of that map.]