12.11 Assignment 12

Students should set aside at least two hours to complete this assignment and to continue research for the 3-generation project.

A school library and student access to research databases will help with this assignment. For example, if a researcher has discovered a certain occupation is tied to the research family, they may choose to find some peer-reviewed, academic sources1 about the history and role of that occupation, paying especial attention to the time and place matching the period when the research family was living. Whatever is most interesting in the facts tied to the research family could be used during this assignment. The information discovered will be added to the research report to create interest and enhance the narrative. Perhaps the family lost sons in a certain war, those battles or the war in general could be a good topic for contextual research. Maybe the children went to school during certain years and the research could explore games they may have played or books that may have been used in their studies. There is not a set topic, it is up to the researcher to decide what is interesting and worth gaining knowledge about in order to enhance understanding of the research family’s lived experience. The key is to use solid sources that are peer-reviewed and academic in nature. It may be worth meeting with a librarian to go over what databases are available. General online searches or using Wikipedia will not fulfill this assignment.

STEP 1: In order to understand historical context, find at least two academic articles that pertain to your research family. Be sure to log your searches, make notes in your research log, and create citations for articles you choose to use in the research report.

STEP 2: Turn in two academic source citations to your professor.

STEP 3: Continue your 3-generation research, utilizing some of the record types and strategies presented in this chapter. Remember to log your searches and record applicable documents with their citations on the appropriate family group record.

Looking Ahead