Free Online Genealogy Course with FutureLearn (Week 2)

[groom]

Free Online Genealogy Course with FutureLearn. Here we are on week two of this course. This is what will be covered during this session:

  Effective Searching Techniques
You begin to think about how to define what you are actually searching for and we’ll introduce some key ways to think laterally about searching for your family information. Topics to be covered are:

How to create a research plan and what an effective search looks like.
Different ways to approach research: FAN/cluster techniques and mind mapping
Getting to grips with spelling and name change issues
What primary source databases are and how get the best out of searching them, including wildcards.

If you haven't started week one, it isn't too late to join in. Here is the link if you need it:

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/genealogy

[tjugg]

Ok bookmarking page looking forward to week 2
Linda

[Jo.]

My notion of Mind Mapping, is probably a lot different to there version 

But I do work on Dementia care, where Mind Mapping is used to study the interaction etc in a day of the person with dementia with others and there environment...

But looking forward to week 2

[millymcb]

FAN/cluster techniques and mind mapping  ?

I can't imagine what they mean by that. Will be interesting to find out.

Milly

[groom]

I agree, it will be interesting to see what they mean by mind mapping. When we did it with the children at school we started with a word in the middle of a sheet of paper eg Summer. Then from there we thought of several words that were connected with Summer perhaps hot, holidays etc, then words connected with them ie holidays - beach, sea, fun, games. I can't quite see how that sort of thing would work when planning research.

[millymcb]

I have a feeling it may just be a fancy term for something obvious - but am happy to be proved wrong

Milly

[StevieSteve]

Looking at the web, it seems like a way of generating ideas / organising research

I think the danger might be that to use it, you'll need to consciously put aside a bit of time away from the search engines and actually plan what you're going to do, which people will intuitively think will be time wasted.

Even if convinced by it, week 3 will arrive and the good intentions forgotten as people get on with the next topic

[panic]

I agree, it will be interesting to see what they mean by mind mapping. When we did it with the children at school we started with a word in the middle of a sheet of paper eg Summer. Then from there we thought of several words that were connected with Summer perhaps hot, holidays etc, then words connected with them ie holidays - beach, sea, fun, games. I can't quite see how that sort of thing would work when planning research.

Well from the intro video 2.1 it seems mind mapping is one of the techniques being suggested to get you to think outside standard methods to find ways round brick walls. Wonder how much of the material is generic undergraduate methods on research applied to a genealogy theme?

[Romilly]

I'm interested to see that we'll be looking at Name Changes... I seem to have turned up a few in my research already(!)

Romilly.