Record
keeping
When you start working on your family research, a tablet of paper or a set of pre-printed forms usually feels like it will be all that you need. Before long, however, you will find that you have dozens and then hundreds and then thousands of names and dates stored.
The best way to deal with all of this information is with a computer program dedicated to genealogy. These programs make it possible to keep adding new information without have to re-type all of those relationships. Best yet, they offer places to keep notes and miscellaneous information.
One word to the wise: write down the source of all of your information. At the beginning, it feels like you'll be able to remember where each bit of information came from. After a while, you may have two pieces of information that conflict and, if you don't remember where each came from, you won't be able to evaluate which one is probably right. Good software packages offer space to enter the source of each fact.
