Course Syllabus
Overview
This course teaches principles of effective genealogical research methodology for solving difficult problems using US and global record collections. Students will plan strategies to solve research problems. They will use a variety of genealogical record types and sources to complete research projects. Through assigned research projects, students will gain experience in describing a research problem, planning and executing a research strategy, compiling and analyzing evidence, assembling documents, citing sources, and producing professional and well-organized reports. This course will give students real-world research experience that they would encounter with professional client research.
Note: This course requires student access complex visual artifacts, especially when doing research, which would be difficult to use with a screen reader. If you have a disability that prevents you from accessing these course materials or using this software, please contact Disability Services.
Program Message
Welcome to FHGEN 411: Research Methodology. This is a practicum-type course. It is designed to give you supervised, practical application of previously studied material and real-world research experience, and prepare you to engage in professional client research. Your research will include research plans, reports that explain search results, research logs, family group records, and other research forms and best practices.
This course consists of four research projects that require use of a variety of records and involve different areas and time periods. You will have three weeks (20 hours of work total) to complete each project. Additionally, you will be given skill builders and reflection exercises to assist you in learning and reflecting on the skills needed to become a genealogy professional.
To succeed in this course, you will need to be a self-motivated researcher who works collaboratively with your classmates and learns from the mentoring your instructor will give you.
This course, in conjunction with the other courses in this program, will help prepare you to apply for a professional genealogy credential through ICAPGen or BCG. This course has been designed to provide you with solid academic content and develop practical research skills which are critical for a professional genealogist across many research settings.
The online class policy is that for every credit hour, you should expect to spend three hours of work per week. For this class, you should plan on spending approximately nine hours per week.
Requirements
Prerequisites
You must successfully complete FHGEN 340 and FHGEN 351 prior to taking FHGEN 411.
Required Resources
There are no texts for this course. However, you will need to purchase the latest version of the RootsMagic software program. You can purchase it for the student-discounted price of $10 (works on both PC and Mac). Full instructions are included in the course. You may also use the software at your local family history center.
You also need Microsoft Word and Excel. If you do not yet have these programs on your computer, you can download them for free as a BYU-Idaho student. The BYU-Idaho Bookstore provides free downloads of the Microsoft Office Suite
Structure
Course Outcomes (CO)
- Understand advanced strategies for solving genealogical problems.
- Identify key record groups to use for genealogical problems.
- Develop a research plan and conduct effective research using a variety of records.
- Create and use an effective research log.
- Record, organize, and cite family history information and answers to genealogical questions in family group records and reports.
- Assemble and organize copies of documents.
Major Assignments
The table below is meant to help you see the relevance of each major assignment as it pertains to the course outcomes (CO).
| Major Assignment | Description | CO# |
|---|---|---|
| Project 1 | Students will apply property record and FAN methodologies to a 20-hour research project and write a client report. | 3, 4, 5 |
| Project 2 | Students will apply immigration and naturalization methodologies to a 20-hour research project and write a client report. | 3, 4, 5 |
| Project 3 | Students will apply church record and name disambiguation methodologies to a 20-hour research project and write a client report. | 3, 4, 5 |
| Project 4 | Students will apply probate and tax record methodologies to a 20-hour research project and write a client report. | 3, 4, 5 |
Weekly Patterns
The tables below display typical weekly activities, due dates, and activity descriptions.
This course has a 3-week repeating pattern.
Week A
| Due Date* | Learning Model | Activity Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midweek | Prepare | Skill Builders | Students learn skills that will help them in their research project. |
| Midweek | Prepare | Research Plan Rough Draft | Students create a research plan rough draft. |
| Midweek | Teach One Another | Research Plan Peer Review | Students receive and give feedback on their research plans. |
| End-of-week | Prove | Research Plan Final Draft | Students finalize their research plans, using peer feedback to make the plan stronger. |
| End-of-week | Teach One Another | Reflection | Students reflect on the previous project. |
| End-of-week | Prove | Time Log | Students keep track of their time and what it's spent on. |
Week B
| Due Date* | Learning Model | Activity Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| End-of-week | Prove | Time Log | Students keep track of their research time and how they spend it. |
| End-of-week | Prove | Research Log | Student keeps track of all search parameters and microreporting elements. |
Week C
| Due Date* | Learning Model | Activity Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| End-of-week | Prove | Final Report | Students submit their final project for the three weeks. |
*Set your time zone within user preferences so that the dates and times for course activities will display correctly for your time zone.
Learning Model
The course follows a weekly cycle of Prepare, Teach One Another, and Ponder and Prove activities.
Prepare: You will prepare by setting goals and scheduling your time wisely. These actions will help you to complete assignments, stay on task, and perform valuable work in the future. You will have little predefined structure and will be responsible for thinking ahead and establishing your own productive schedule.
Teach One Another: You will teach one another as you research specific individuals and their families. Many others in your class will be able to provide you with tips and assistance that can help you reach your goals. You, likewise, will have much to offer them and will have many opportunities to do so throughout the semester in peer review activities and discussion boards.
Ponder and Prove: You will demonstrate your work each week by turning in a research plan, time log, and/or a research project. These projects will sharpen your research skills as you spend time and effort completing them. Your accounting of them to your instructor and participation in the reflection discussion boards will further help you to ponder and prove.
Expectations
Workload
This course is focused on projects. It will be important for you to pace yourself and plan your time wisely. Spend time every day working on this course. Weeks 02, 05, 08, and 11 will have activities due both midweek and at the end of the week. Weeks 03–04, 06–07, 09–10, and 12–13 will only have assignments due at the end of the week.
For each project, you are expected to conduct research that addresses a specific genealogical problem and to produce a quality research report as if for a client. You are expected to read and understand all instructions. If you have questions about an assignment, you are expected to ask your instructor well before the assignment is due.
Group Work
Students interact in pairs as they complete the peer review assignments.
Late Work
This course is comprised of class discussions, skill building activities, and projects. Late work will not be accepted unless otherwise arranged with your instructor.
Grading Scale
| Letter Grade | Percent |
|---|---|
| A | 93%–100% |
| A- | 90%–92% |
| B+ | 87%–89% |
| B | 83%–86% |
| B- | 80%–82% |
| C+ | 77%–79% |
| C | 73%–76% |
| C- | 70%–72% |
| D+ | 67%–69% |
| D | 63%–66% |
| D- | 60%–62% |
| F | 59% and lower |
Additional Resources
If any technical difficulties arise throughout the course contact the Online Support Center or the Help Desk before contacting the instructor.
Online Support Center
Phone: (208) 496-1411
Email: onlinelearning@byui.edu
Website: http://www.byui.edu/online/online-support-center
Text Messaging: (855) 808-7102
Hours: Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. mountain time
Skype: onlinesupportcenterbyui
Live Chat: Available on the Online Support Center Website
Help Desk
Phone: (208) 496-1411
Email: helpdesk@byui.edu
Website: http://www.byui.edu/help-desk
Hours: Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. mountain time.
Copyright
Materials on BYUI I-Learn and related sites may be protected by US Copyright Law (Title 17, US Code). These materials are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course and may not be retained or further disseminated.
University Policies
Students with Disabilities
BYU-Idaho is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by BYU-Idaho Disability Services. If you need assistance or feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established policy and procedures.
This course may include synchronous meetings. If you have any disability that may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact Disability Services as soon as possible, preferably before the beginning of the semester, in order to insure that you receive appropriate accommodations.
Disability Services Contact Information:
- Website: Disability Services
- Phone (United States only): (208) 496-9210
- Email: disabilityservices@byui.edu
- Fax: (208) 496-5210
Other University Policies
Go to the Student Resources module to review the university policies regarding honesty, online etiquette, communication expectations, etc.
Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is required and any violation with be dealt with according to the University Academic Honesty Policy. All content in I-Learn, including quizzes and exams, is copyrighted by BYU-Idaho. Posting copyrighted material to a public website violates federal law and the university Honor Code.
Personal Conduct
All of your correspondence with the teacher or other classmates must be respectful. Writing something disrespectful or "venting" is unprofessional and not becoming of a university student. In addition, it is not in accordance with the Honor Code of BYU-Idaho, and you will be subject to discipline accordingly. You are invited to re-read the BYUI Honor Code and the "Principles of Personal Honor."
Other Expectations
Writing Requirements
In this course, you will be required to write papers as part of certain assignments. You will need to follow the instructions carefully to write a professional client report. Make sure that your paper is focused on the topic given by your instructor. Be concise and clear. Rambling will not be accepted for full credit. Do not attempt to pad your responses by being wordy. Your papers should be well-organized, using paragraphs with correct spelling and punctuation standards.
Each research report must include all the expected elements:
- Statement of the research objective
- Background information
- Research findings
- Conclusion
- Future research recommendations
Write your report as if your client has no genealogical research experience. Explain terms that the client may not understand. Write clearly and concisely. As you discuss records, explain why you chose to examine them and what you hoped to find, or did find, that helped to resolve the genealogical problem. Make certain that you present all the evidence you discover relating to the research question and thoroughly analyze that evidence as applicable. Present and resolve any conflicting information that you found during research. Build your case so that the client will likely arrive at the same conclusion that you defined in the report. If no direct evidence was located during your research, then carefully explain how you used multiple pieces of indirect evidence to draw your conclusions.
Organize your data under appropriate headings and subheadings. Consider how to best present your findings. Although most of your findings will be written as a narrative, you may want to include charts, tables, graphs, or record transcriptions.
Use the following formatting guidelines for each report:
- 1.5 line spacing
- 1-inch margins
- 12-point font size for the body text (use a larger font size for the report title and headings)
- Number each page at the top right
- Use properly formatted and standardized footnotes (not endnotes) to source each piece of evidence. All FHGEN courses use the Chicago Manual of Style (or related style manuals based on that system).
To learn more about writing standards, visit the BYU-Idaho Writing Center website for tutorials and handouts. Tutoring sessions are also available to students in the Writing Center on campus or online via Skype. If your schedule does not coincide with the Writing Center hours (9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Monday–Friday, mountain time) you may email your paper to writingcenter@byui.edu and receive written feedback for your paper within 48 hours. Visit the Help for Online Students page for more details on these resources.
Remember, it is your responsibility to understand and follow the instructions completely! If you have a question regarding an assignment, ask your instructor early for clarification. Last-minute questions cannot be expected to be answered immediately.
Projects
There are four projects in this course that are each completed over a three-week period. Plan to spend 20 hours on each project: four hours the first week, eight hours the second week, and the remaining eight hours during the final week. You will submit a time log and a research plan during the first week, and you will submit a second time log and your current research plan during the second week. The entire project is due the third week. It requires your research plan, research log, research report, documents, family group records, and proof of new skill implementation.
Make certain that you have done the following before submitting your project to the instructor:
- Included all the required elements in your research report
- Formatted your research report correctly
- Labeled your files properly
Make sure you have the correct copy of each file prior to uploading the project by moving all the documents into a project folder to make it easy for you to upload each item to I-Learn. Upload each item to the project folder. You may select several files to upload simultaneously.
- Please do not submit a zipped file. Online instructors use their own computers, and if zipped files are submitted, the file must be downloaded before viewing rather than being viewed in the online learning environment. Students may unwittingly share viruses from their computers in this manner. The university will not replace damaged computer equipment for online instructors caused by downloading a virus.
- Please do not upload files to an online database outside of I-Learn and include a link to those files. Files uploaded to online databases may be edited and changed after the deadline. These will not be accepted.
Skill Building Activities
You will complete multiple skill building activities during the semester. These usually require that you read articles and/or watch videos and answer some questions about a new skill being taught. These activities can be taken up to three times, and the highest score will be recorded in the grade book.
Discussions or Other
After completing your research plan during the first week of a project, you will share your research plans and participate in a peer review. After each project is completed, you will have the chance to discuss with other students what you learned from the project. This will also be a great chance to ask questions and learn from others. There are a few other assignments and surveys that will make up the rest of your final grade.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|