{"id":431,"date":"2012-11-29T17:20:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-29T23:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/some-people-just-arent-cut-out-for-genealogy-research\/"},"modified":"2013-07-03T22:31:54","modified_gmt":"2013-07-04T03:31:54","slug":"some-people-just-arent-cut-out-for-genealogy-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/some-people-just-arent-cut-out-for-genealogy-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Some People Just Aren\u2019t Cut Out for Genealogy Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well if the last post<\/a> didn’t get me into trouble, I’m sure this one will (if you haven\u2019t read it, you probably should do so before reading this one).\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of a continuation of the conversation, but I will discuss what I think the bigger issue really is, in my opinion.\u00a0 While most of the offensive and emotional material was stripped from my last post, the same cannot be said for this post, but I’m prepared for the “hate mail,” so bring it on!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Here is part of what I said in my last post:<\/p>\n

The gist of Sharon’s article<\/a> was the there is too much misinformation published by “drive-by genealogists,” who “believe the television ads about how easy it is to click on a few links and find your entire family.”\u00a0 In other words, the newbies don’t know what they’re doing and publish a bunch of junk.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"think\"<\/a>And I agree that there is a bunch of crap out there, both on and offline.\u00a0 While Sharon and I disagree about when this occurs during the course of a beginner\u2019s journey, I really believe there is a bigger issue in play than just \u201cdrive-by genealogists\u201d or beginners.\u00a0 If you read the title of this post, then you probably know where I\u2019m going with this\u2014some people just aren\u2019t cut out for genealogy research.<\/p>\n

What I’m getting at here is that there are too many people out there that really have no clue what they’re doing when it comes to genealogical research<\/em>. Yep, I said it!\u00a0 But, I’ll admit, I was one of them years ago. However, I had enough common sense to realize this and I sought out learning opportunities to understand genealogy research practices, standards, methodology; how to use certain records; where to find said records; etc.\u00a0 I am a researcher and analyst by trade and knew that I just needed a little help to get me going in this new land of unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n

Researchers by trade or not, genealogists typically are good at critical thinking and therefore can figure out how to research either by stumbling along or seeking out some help or a combination of both approached.\u00a0 They are problem-solvers, love the challenge of a puzzle, and are good at collecting and, more importantly, analyzing\"noose\"<\/a> information.\u00a0 Most can recognize when there is a gap in their knowledge and they look for ways to bridge that gap.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there are people that simply do not have the aptitude for research of any kind, not just genealogy. (Yes, I feel the noose tightening.)\u00a0 And I hate to sound even more negative, but I don\u2019t think analytical skills can be learned\u2014your brain either functions that way, or it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

I’m a believer in the concept of left-brain versus right-brain. In theory, good researchers are those who are “left-brained.” They are more methodical, logical, and analytical, as opposed to those considered “right-brained,” which are typically the creative, artistic, and intuitive types.\u00a0 In other words, left-brainers and right-brainers think differently, learn differently, and generally see the world differently.<\/p>\n

But, just because someone is predominantly right-brained, doesn\u2019t mean they lack analytical skills altogether.\u00a0 It could however mean that those skills are basic and that advanced research and methodology will be a struggle for them.<\/p>\n

Okay, so now that I have alienated the entire right-brained population, let me just state:\u00a0 this is not to say that right-brainers can’t pursue genealogy<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 They just need to understand that they have a skillset that usually doesn\u2019t include much in the way of analytical skills. They have a creative mind, so they need to use that creativity to figure out how to make genealogy work for them.\u00a0 Maybe they’re good at finding information but not analyzing it or putting it together with other information to draw a conclusion. They need to find someone with the analytical gene to help them out, perhaps a family member, a friend, a volunteer at the local genealogical\/historical society, a librarian, or a professional genealogist.<\/p>\n

Now, don\u2019t go thinking that I\u2019m saying that right-brainers can\u2019t be genealogists and have to find someone else to do the work for them.\u00a0 I\u2019m also not saying that left-brainers are superior in the field.\u00a0 In defense of right-brainers, they are the ones who can see the bigger picture.\u00a0 Even though they may struggle with analyzing individual pieces of information and putting it together themselves, they are usually well-suited for finding holes in the conclusion.\u00a0 They may not be able to say what\u2019s missing or how to fix it, but they just intuitively know something\u2019s awry and the conclusion is not making total sense.\u00a0\u00a0 And let\u2019s face it, the creative types do have a huge advantage when it comes to genealogy\u2014they’re the one’s that can help tell the family story in an engaging way, as opposed to the left-brainers and their \u201cjust the facts\u201d approach.<\/p>\n

This is why I think collaboration in genealogy is so important.\u00a0 It\u2019s sometimes the best<\/span> only way to approach problem-solving on difficult research projects.\u00a0 And a small team made up of both types of thinkers can really work wonders.\u00a0 Everyone can pitch in and find things.\u00a0 The left-brainers analyze the information and draw conclusions.\u00a0 The right-brainers see something off with a conclusion.\u00a0 They all discuss and brainstorm and perhaps it\u2019s back to searching for more records.\u00a0 The left-brainers re-correlate and reanalyze the information, redraw the conclusion and now everyone\u2019s happy.\u00a0 The conclusion is usually a fact-based proof argument of some sort, that isn\u2019t really how a story should be presented outside of the scholarly area, so the right-brainers take over and create a wonderful story that is ready for public consumption.\u00a0 At least this is how it would work in my fantasyland and that\u2019s how my dream-team would function.<\/p>\n

In other words, it takes both kinds to make the genealogy world go \u2018round, at least in a perfect world, contributing in different ways.\u00a0 But, I\u2019ll say it again, some people just aren\u2019t cut out for genealogy research.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry, but if you are a right-brainer working in a bubble, with no analytical skills whatsoever, jumping from tree to tree without \"shock\"<\/a>understanding what you’re copying, never looking at actual records and documents (and questioning why you should) then genealogy is probably not the right fit for you.\u00a0 I’m sorry, but it’s these people who are perpetuating the problem of recycling bad information.\u00a0 And it’s likely that no amount of education in genealogy standards and methodology is going to help them.\u00a0 Yes, I know, jaw on floor.\u00a0 (Being an advocate for genealogy education, my head\u2019s constantly banging against the wall, so your jaw being on the floor is a better scenario by comparison!)<\/p>\n

And as I make such a bold statement, I’m reminded of some cousins I\u2019ve found (through those really bad trees) that fall into this category of people who should not be doing genealogy research.\u00a0 While there’s no helping them with the concept of genealogy research<\/em>, there have been times when they\u2019ve held a key piece of information that I\u2019ve needed to further my research.\u00a0 I of course took the time to substantiate the information and build upon it, but without the clue I don\u2019t know if i would have ever found it on my own…at least not as quickly.<\/p>\n

So even though there\u2019s a bunch of crap out there, there could be a diamond in the rough.\u00a0 And don\u2019t forget about those cousins that led you to the diamond\u2026they may be sitting on a diamond mine of even more information, they just don\u2019t have the skills to know what to do with it.\u00a0 But you wouldn\u2019t know it if they didn\u2019t make themselves known, garbage and all, through those poorly-done public trees.\u00a0 Now pick your jaw up off the floor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well if the last post didn’t get me into trouble, I’m sure this one will (if you haven\u2019t read it, you probably should do so before reading this one).\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of a continuation of the conversation, but I will discuss what I think the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genblog","cat-25-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3HcLI-6X","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2957,"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions\/2957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genealogy.julietarr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}