Skillbuilding

From OnBoard: Newsletter of the Board for Certification of Genealogists

The following skillbuilding columns were published in BCG's educational newsletter, OnBoard. They are protected by copyright. Individuals may download and print copies for their personal study. Educators are granted permission to provide copies to their students as long as BCG, OnBoard, and the appropriate author are credited as the source of the material. Republication elsewhere is not permitted.

• Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Analyzing Deeds for Useful Clues," OnBoard 1 (January 1995): 8.
  
• Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Analyzing Wills for Useful Clues," OnBoard 1 (May 1995): 16.
  
• Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Citing Your Sources," OnBoard 1 (September 1995): 24.
  
• Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Transcribing Source Materials," OnBoard 2 (January 1996): 8.
  
• Kathleen W. Hinckley, "Analyzing City Directories," OnBoard 2 (May 1996): 16.
  
• Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, "Conducting Effective Oral Interviews," OnBoard 2 (September 1996): 24.
  
• Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Producing Quality Research Notes," OnBoard 3 (January 1997): 8.
  
• Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Analyzing and Reviewing Published Sources," OnBoard 3 (May 1997): 16.
  
• Anita Anderson Lustenberger, "Using Indexes," OnBoard 3 (September 1997): 24.
  
• Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Censuses - Often-Overlooked Basics," OnBoard 4 (January 1998): 8.
  
• Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Good Genealogical Writing," OnBoard 4 (May 1998): 16.
  
• Kay Haviland Freilich, "Polishing Our Everyday Writing," OnBoard 4 (September 1998): 24.
  
• Helen F.M. Leary, "Converting Records into Reliable Copies," OnBoard 5 (May 1999): 20.
  
• [Anonymous], "A Judge's Notes from an Application for Certified Genealogist," OnBoard 5 (September 1999): 25,27.
  
• Kathleen W. Hinckley, "Educational Opportunities," OnBoard 6 (January 2000): 6-7.
  
• Amy Johnson Crow, "Citations on the Source," OnBoard 6 (May 2000): 14-15.
  
• Elizabeth W. Schmidt, "Citation Placement," OnBoard 6 (May 2000): 14.
  
• Rhonda S. Norris, "Preparing Research Reports (Accurately and Clearly)," OnBoard 7 (January 2001).
  
• Elissa Scalise Powell, "Standards for Genealogical Instructors," OnBoard 7 (May 2001): 13-14.
  
• Linda Woodward Geiger, "Using the Compilations of Others," OnBoard 7 (September 2001): 20-21.
  
• Amy Larner Giroux, "Date Calculations," OnBoard 9 (May 2003): 12-13,10.
  
• Shelia Benedict, "Using Newspapers Effectively," OnBoard 9 (September 2003): 20-22.
  
• Sandra MacLean Clunies, "Evaluating Web Resources," OnBoard 10 (May 2004): 12-13.
• Kay Haviland Freilich , "Background Information: An Overlooked Research Tool," OnBoard 11 (September 2005): 17-18.
• Barbara J. Mathews, "Structural Elements of A Good Genealogy," OnBoard 12 (January 2006): 1-2.
• Charles S. Mason, Jr. , "Before Death Certificates: Furniture Dealers and Cabinetmakers as Death Sources ," OnBoard 12 (May 2006): 14-15.
• Barbara Vines Little, "Tax Lists: A Goldmine of Information ," OnBoard 12 (September 2006): 17-18.
• Patricia O'Brien Shawker , "Passport Applications: A Rich Genealogical Resource," OnBoard 13 (May 2007): 14-15.
• Ann Carter Fleming , "Overlooked Resources: Business, Organizational, and Institutional Records," OnBoard 13 (September 2007): 22-23.

After you feel comfortable with the skills outlined in these skillbuilding columns, you may want to test yourself. The BCG has supplied two test documents along with their corresponding transcriptions, abstracts and research plans. Visit our Test Your Skills section to access these documents.

The Board has also created a self-scored quiz that can help you determine whether you're ready to apply. Please visit the Are You Ready for Certification section to take the quiz. Your score will be displayed at the bottom of the quiz.

As instructive models for your own work products, you will find quality examples of genealogies, proof arguments, and research reports in PDF format on the Sample Work Products page.