Search Tools:
Using Origins Network Features Part I
By Sherry Irvine, MSC CG FSA Scot
January is a good time to look back at your research
of the previous 12 months. You can consider whether or
not to continue with the same lines of research,
assess new information found in recent work and set
objectives for the months ahead. Objectives need not
be just about the family lines you are researching;
they can relate to improving your search and analysis
skills. To help you do this I discuss in this article
search tool options at Origins and next time I look at
ways to work with search results.
Fundamental Search Choices
Origins offers several search options including
fundamental choices that have to be made right away.
Will you search across all the databases in British or
Irish Origins at once, or one dataset at a time? Will
you use Name-X at the default settings for searching
name variants or adjust it or disable it by using
wildcard symbols?
The Origins Network makes it easy to choose between
searching across all the databases together or to
search only selected ones. When "Search by Name" is
selected the page which appears has the general search
tool for all data and below that a list of individual
British or Irish datasets, each with a Search button
available. Boyd's Marriage Index, Griffith's
Valuation, the censuses and several others all have
search tools with more fields available; using their
specific search tools focuses your search. Targeted
searches help you keep track of your work, may speed
up the search, and may help you identify relevant
results.
Every search at any level presents the Name-X options
of exact match, close variants or all variants, for
surnames and given names. If the search is for exact
matches this limits results found to those that are
spelled according to what was entered in the field. If
you choose to search for variants there are two
settings and on the results page you can look at a
list of what variants were considered in the search.
Be sure to do this.
If a surname variant you want checked is not listed
you can do a search on it at the exact setting or work
out a search using the wildcard symbols - * for zero
or more letters and ? for a single letter. There are
examples of use of these symbols at the web site.
Using wildcards turns off Name-X but that is what you
want.
Searching Specific Datasets
It is logical that the fields in the search box vary
with the data being searched. Some indexes have
limitations; for example, there are no given names in
the index to the Marriage Licenses of the Vicar
General. Other indexes present a great deal of
information so the search can be narrowed considerably
by adding additional details to what you are looking
for.
It is a good idea to try out the search options and to
work from the general to the specific. In other words,
begin a search with minimal input, a surname and
Name-X set to "All Variants". Gradually narrow the
search by changing the Name-X setting, adjusting the
date range, and including a geographical limit of a
country or county or parish according to what is
offered. Switch next to an individual; use a surname
and a given name and repeat the steps that
progressively narrow the search. Then gradually test
out other options such as birth place or name of a
spouse.
Practicing with different search settings helps you
understand how the search works and as your experience
grows you can see new ways to extract all possible
results from the individual sets of data within
British and Irish Origins.
Tips
There are plenty of tips at the Origins site. Try out
the links in the green "tips" area that is part of
every search box. The word "help" is always there and
choosing it opens another window. There are several
headings to choose from offering information on the
data and general search advice. It is a good
combination, search advice and record information; the
more you know about both the more effective your
searches will be.