Using Excel as a Research Log

There is no right way, wrong way, or best way to keep a research log. There is simply a way that works for you. I have managed my research in many sloppy ways over the years, but I finally hit upon one that works well for me.

I use Excel to organize my research and log my findings. Granted, I worked as an Actuary for over 8 years, and the old adage “I’ve forgotten more about” <insert ‘Excel’> “than most people ever learn about” <insert ‘Excel’ again> fits my situation to a T. But this particular use of Excel is pretty simple and I thought that I would share it with you in case it can help you manage your research as well!

I like to create a research log for each surname that I am working on.

Once I’m in the Excel spreadsheet itself, I may set each one up slightly differently as I find data, but for the most part, they are all set up to document and organize my catalog searches within familysearch.org. So, the first tab is dedicated to this purpose.  

At the very top, I type Family Search Library, then skip a line, and then add where in the catalog I am finding the records. Each state I’m scouring as well as each county gets its own set of columns. And I freeze the cells under the headings so that no matter how far I scroll down, I still know where the records are coming from.

Here is an example from the first set of columns: USA, Florida.

That title lets me know that I found these records in the catalog on Family Search for the state of Florida. The next item listed in the first column is “Voters Registers", so within the catalog of Florida in Family Search, I would scroll down to “United States, Florida - Voting registers ( 5 )”. Then I like to bump over to the next column for readability and here I have written “Florida territorial and state election records, 1826-1865“.

So, within the Family Search Catalog, this is what the entry looks like and you can see how I can easily recreate this records search by the information that I included in my column headings:

Then, I like to scoot over to the next column and record the volume, range of years, record subset, etc. Anything to help me identify any additional specifics so that I can recreate the search again as needed.

For the USA, Florida —> Land and Property —> Armed Occupation Act record set shown above, I then list each person’s name. In the Voting Register example that I showed earlier, I list the County and the year, and then one column over I list the name. I keep adding all the details that I can until the last entry is the name of the person. And the last column in any set of columns is the hyperlink to the specific record referenced directly by the sourcing above the hyperlink. So, while I can recreate any search, I can also quickly click the hyperlink and go to the actual page in the source material in an instant.  

This method allows me to gather all the information for a set of records and look at it holistically.

My research log also allows me to document negative searches.

I began recording negative searches when I realized that I was reviewing the same record sets again and again, simply because in my research log, I didn’t have any records listed, so I was assuming that meant that I hadn’t reviewed that record set yet. But what it actually meant in a lot of cases is that the record set contained no documents pertaining to my research question. So, I began noting the record set and describing what I searched for and what I did not find.

When flipping through unindexed volumes page by page, I can also provide a link to where I stopped during my last search so that I know exactly where to pick back up. I just click the hyperlink and continue flipping through the pages. I simply update the hyperlink with my new stopping point once I am done reading for the day and I can pick the project back up the next day or the next month and not waste any time at all trying to figure out where I last looked.

And once my research question is answered, I can back and then begin attaching sources and providing accurate source citations. I can highlight the cells so that I know where I last ended and pick the project right back up and keep going. Note below that most of the items have “Done” typed beside them highlighted in gray. Those records have been attached and sourced in my tree. As soon as I open this file, I know that I need to start with the source labeled “Thomas Peebles Admin and Guardian”.