Filed under Starting From Almost Nothing: A Method Guide
What to check first in this record
Expect dead ends from common names, missing records, variant spellings and units that cannot be fixed from the clues you have. Each dead end is a finding that narrows the next search, not a reason to stop.
Keep a note of every filter combination you try, including the ones that failed. A failed search is only useful if you can prove you already tried it. The strongest clue is often the least glamorous: a number, a date, a place. Glamorous clues, badges and stories, point in many directions at once.
Working through it in order
Do not skip the step that checks the filters. It feels redundant when the filters seem obvious, and it is the step that catches wrong persons. Order matters more than speed here. The same records, opened in a different order, produce a different timeline, and only one of those orders can be checked. If a step produces nothing, record that nothing. A documented negative result is part of the research, and it stops the same step being repeated blindly. If a step produces two candidates, keep both, with their filters, until a record separates them. Discarding one early feels tidy and is often wrong.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Name the clue exactly: what it is, what it says, and what it does not say. |
| 2 | Choose the first record that clue points to, and note its reference before opening it. |
| 3 | Extract only dated facts from that record, and add them to a first timeline with source notes. |
| 4 | Let the first timeline choose the second record, and keep guesses in a separate list until a record joins them. |
How do you read what you find?
What a record omits can be as informative as what it includes, but only if you know what that kind of record usually includes. Learn the form before you judge the gap. Read the entry in the terms of its own period, not in modern terms. A place name followed by a question mark, a correction, or a second spelling is the record telling you it is unsure. Carry that uncertainty into your notes.
Dead ends to expect here
When a record set ends before your dates, or begins after them, the problem is coverage, and no variation of search terms will fix a coverage problem. Each dead end here is a normal research outcome, not a personal failure, and each one points to a next check rather than to a conclusion. Do not mistake a digitised index for the whole record set. An index that covers part of a series will hide entries that the full catalogue would show.
What should you check next?
Do not open a new area of research to escape a dead end in this one. Note the dead end, choose the next check inside this area, and only then widen the search. If the next record is a unit record, carry the posting dates with you. If it is a personal record, carry the number. The filter you carry decides what you find. When you close this guide, close it with a question written down. Questions written down become next sessions; questions remembered become lost sessions.
Primary sources for this guide
Everything here is kept general and tied to official holders, so check the current position with the holder for your own case. The guide is educational information only: it is not personal professional advice, it is not a lookup service, and it settles nothing about any one person's service.