Before You Begin a Genealogy Search: A Preparation Checklist

Work through this checklist before diving into public records—covering what to gather, document, and clarify to make your search more efficient.

Why Preparation Comes Before the Database

Jumping straight into a genealogy database without preparation is one of the most common—and costly—mistakes researchers make. You end up collecting a large volume of records that may or may not relate to your family, losing hours untangling duplicate names, and sometimes building an entire branch of the tree on the wrong person entirely.

A structured preparation checklist solves this. Before you open a single archive, knowing exactly who you are searching for, what documents you already hold, and where your ancestors likely lived narrows the search space dramatically. This is the same logic that applies to historical archive research preparation: focused sessions produce better results than open-ended browsing.

The checklist below is organised into logical phases. Work through each group before moving to a database, and you will find that each search session yields cleaner, more verifiable results. If you are also planning to use obituaries as a research tool, the obituary research checklist is a natural next step once this groundwork is complete.

What You Already Know

Write down the full legal names of the ancestors you intend to research, including middle names and any known suffixes. Must

List the approximate birth, marriage, and death dates for each person, even if only a decade or decade range is known. Must

Note every location associated with each ancestor — birthplace, residence, marriage location, and place of death. Must

Record the names of known siblings, parents, and spouses for each ancestor, as these relatives often appear in the same records. Should

List any occupation, religion, or ethnicity details you already know, as these influence which record sets to prioritise. Should

Name Variation and Spelling Research

Brainstorm alternate spellings of each surname — phonetic variants, anglicisations, and common transcription errors all appear in historical records. Must

Check whether first names had common shortened forms, nicknames, or equivalents in another language that a census taker might have recorded. Must

Note whether any ancestor may have changed their name upon immigration or naturalisation, and document both versions. Should

Documents in Your Possession

Locate and photocopy or scan all physical documents you already hold: birth certificates, marriage licences, death certificates, and military discharge papers. Must

Catalogue old photographs and label the back of each with the names, approximate dates, and locations you can identify. Should

Review any family bibles, letters, or diaries for names, dates, and relationships recorded by previous generations. Should

Scan or photograph newspaper clippings, obituaries, and funeral programmes that family members may have saved. Nice to have

Interviewing Living Relatives

Identify living relatives who hold direct knowledge of prior generations and schedule a recorded interview before beginning your database research. Must

Ask each relative to name every sibling of their parents or grandparents, including those who may have died young or moved away. Should

Ask about immigration stories, name changes, family disputes, or other events that may have altered the documentary record. Should

Request copies of any documents relatives hold, or ask permission to scan them during or after the interview. Should

Defining Your Research Question

Write a single, specific research question for this session — for example, "Where was my great-grandmother born?" — rather than a broad goal like "find my family tree." Must

Identify which record types are most likely to answer your specific question before opening any database. Must

Set a geographic and time-period boundary for your current session so you do not drift into unrelated branches. Should

Source Tracking Setup

Create a simple log — a spreadsheet or research notebook — to record every source you consult, including databases searched and results found or not found. Must

Establish a file naming convention for digital documents before you begin downloading records, so files remain identifiable later. Should

Note negative results (searches that returned nothing) alongside positive ones, as knowing where you have already looked prevents duplication. Nice to have

Tools You Will Need

No specialised software is strictly required to begin, but having the right tools in place before you start prevents mid-session interruptions. The items below cover both the physical and digital sides of the research process.

Required

Research notebook or spreadsheet

Used to log every source consulted, record findings, and track negative results across sessions.

Required

Document scanner or scanning app

Used to create digital copies of physical documents, photographs, and clippings before they deteriorate further.

Required

Audio or video recorder

Used to capture relative interviews accurately, with their permission, so details are not lost to memory.

Optional

Family tree software or template

Used to organise known relationships visually and identify gaps before database research begins.

Optional

Map resource (historical or current)

Used to understand county and jurisdiction boundaries relevant to the time period, since records are filed by jurisdiction.

For a broader guide on where to locate historical documents once your preparation is done, the Historical Records Access hub outlines the major archive types and how to navigate them. If your goal extends to building a full family tree, Tracing Family Roots provides context for how each record type fits into the larger picture.

Avoid Building on Unverified Online Trees

Many public online family trees contain errors that have been copied from one user to another without verification. Treat any information from an unsourced online tree as a lead to investigate, not a confirmed fact. Always trace every claim back to a primary document — a vital record, census entry, or original church register — before accepting it as accurate.

Turning Preparation Into a Repeatable Habit

The checklist above is most useful when it becomes a habit rather than a one-time exercise. Each time you open a new research question—a new ancestral line, a new geographic region, a new time period—return to the preparation phase before touching any database. This prevents the common problem of accumulating records you cannot later place or source-cite correctly.

Pay particular attention to documenting what you do not know. Genealogical researchers sometimes call these gaps "research questions" rather than unknowns, which reframes them as problems to be solved methodically rather than obstacles. If you are preparing to search across multiple record types simultaneously, the approach described in gathering your paper trail before any database search aligns closely with the physical document side of this checklist.

Finally, if any branch of your family research intersects with legal records—estate settlements, court proceedings, or name changes—the preparation principles in the court record search checklist offer a complementary framework for approaching those document types systematically.

Before You Begin a Genealogy Search: A Preparation Checklist

Why Preparation Comes Before the Database

Tools You Will Need

Turning Preparation Into a Repeatable Habit

Genealogy Search Editorial Team