This month at the Special Interest Group Meeting for both
Roots Magic and Family Tree Maker the discussion started with Research Logs and
To-Do Lists.
The difference between To-Do Lists and Research Logs is that
a To-Do list is a simple list of things you need to do. Such as find the birth
certificate for your grandfather, write a letter, find an obituary or many
other things. A research log on the other hand is a record or log of the
research you have done. Research logs can be for an individual, a couple, a
location or a repository. These two software packages handle the solution in
different ways.
Select List on the Main Toolbar and you will find both the
To-Do List and Research Log options. The research logs will let you keep track
of the research you have done on a person, family or place.
Options include
Add, Edit, Delete or Print your research log. You will probably not be deleting
too many research logs, I could see deleting a log you might have for the wrong
person, family or place, or if you accidentally created a duplicate log,
otherwise you want to keep your logs. The purpose of a log is to be able to
review what you have done to determine what you still need to do.
What I like about the Roots Magic research log is that it is
basically “fill in the blanks” and you won’t forget to put some important
information or fact into your log. Since the log is really easy to use, there
should be no excuse not to use this feature. As with anything, you may need to
develop a habit of doing a research log.
Now on to Family Tree Maker, under each person, you will
find Notes, you have person notes which are by default public, you have
research notes which by default are private and then you have tasks which would
be a To-Do list. Now the private and public notes are important to remember
when you share your database to Ancestry.com or as a Gedcom that it will
include public notes but not private notes and facts.
Anyway, the Research notes field is an open area where you
just type. So take a page from Roots Magic and think about some of the fields
they give you that you might want to include in your note. Such as today’s
date, your research objective or goal, what source you used, what was found or
not found and conclusions you came to or new goals you may need to make.
Even though not as dummy proof as Roots Magic, it is still a
very useful feature to have. I have decided to create a template of sorts under
my record in my database. Most likely I will not have research notes for my
information therefore it will be an easy place to find what I want for my
notes.
Family Tree Maker has been handling To-Do Lists for quite a
while. They call them “tasks”. You can access them through the person view and
then view them all from the Plan view. Even though through the Publish feature
you can print out your tasks, you will find the print option via the Plan view
much more useful. You can filter out your task based on user defined
categories. Categories could be surnames, locations, record types, etc… I love being
able to create any category I want. Plus you can assign more than one category
per task. For example: Perhaps you need to find a death certificate, you can
assign it to the category by surname, by the county it is in and that it is a
vital record or death certificate. Finally, you can flag them completed when
you do the task. I love printing out To-Do Lists by category. If I will be visiting
a cemetery and I want photos, I can assign them to the exact cemetery and then
print out a To-Do List. I just check them off as I walk around taking my
pictures.
I may like Roots Magic Research Log, but I love Family Tree
Maker’s Task list more than Roots Magic To-Do List. One nice feature of
Roots Magic To-Do list is the ability to transfer the completed item to the
research log. If you are on a person and select the To-Do list, you have the
option to create a list for a person, or family (person’s parents). If the
person is married you could also choose your person and spouse (family) for the
list. You are given the ability to select an address or repository for the
location.
However, Roots Magic doesn't give me the sort option like
Family Tree Maker does. As for addresses, I created general task for my repositories
and if it is a county look-up, I make sure I have a task with the county
courthouse information. I have addresses for not only courthouses, but
cemeteries, and libraries. I always have my Task list of just my repositories
and it is the first thing in my research folder that I take with me on all
trips. I don’t haul my laptop with me to all my repositories, I will write
notes on my Task lists and when I get back to the hotel or my home, then I
update my research logs and task list with my notes.
Therefore, my Tasks (To-Do) Lists and Research Logs work
closely together. My To-Do lists are Tasks that I need to get done and my
Research Logs are the results of said tasks. So now go out there and start recording all
your research, not just the successes through your source citations!
Next, I found a page in his Funeral Mass booklet listing his
family. His parents were John and Agnes
Driscoll. I wanted to find out more
about John, and I’ll talk more about that in my next posting. Lawrence has siblings listed as John,
Patricia, and Therese. His wife was
Margaret, and his children were Diane and Larry. In following the Ancestry
records, I was able to see that Larry Jr. had lived in Lake Havasu City, and is
buried in Kingman, AZ. It is through him
that our library surely attained the discharge certificate and Mass
booklet. Lawrence’s other child, Diane,
has also passed away. The Mass booklet
contains pages of signatures from his loved ones, many signing #5220 next to
their names, to signify the VFW post that Lawrence belonged to in
Illinois. Notably, one comrade, Ben
Babbitt, signed “96465 Normandy” next to his signature. Thank you to all those fine men who served
with Lawrence Kevin Driscoll.
