Research Standards
The Genealogical Proof Standards have been set down by the “National Genealogical Society”, the “Board for Certification of Genealogist”, and excepted by most of the other leading genealogy societies.
Why do we need standards and a code of ethics? The standards were established to help genealogist to follow the same path in them in effort to accurately record family genealogy and history.
The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) is a guideline for establishing the reliability (“proof”) of a genealogical conclusion with reasonable certainty.[1] It is important within the genealogical community for clearly communicating the quality of research performed, such as by a professional genealogist. It is also useful for helping new genealogists understand what is needed to do high-quality research.
It has five elements:
- Reasonably exhaustive research;
- Complete and accurate source citations;
- Analysis and correlation of the collected information;
- Resolution of any conflicting evidence; and
- A soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion.
There are several websites out there on the internet that will further help you to understand the proof and ethic codes of genealogy. Just go to your favorite search engine and type in “Genealogy Proof Standards”. I strongly recommend that you take some time to study a few of these.
As I am sure you have heard many times before, “If it is worth doing it is worth doing right!”. Remember, if it is not done right, it is fiction.
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