Research Skills in Family History
HS60491-1

This module is intended for both those with an interest in the history of the family, and those seeking a career in the archive service. An understanding of the sources used by family historians is fast becoming an essential, but by no means sufficient, condition for entry into the archive service. This is because family history is one of the most popular pastimes in Great Britain today, and people researching their families make up by far the largest proportion of those visiting County Record Offices and the Local History Sections of public libraries.

The module looks at the principal sources used in the study of family history - the interview, parish registers, the census, probate records and trades directories. Assessment is by means of a portfolio, equivalent to 1,500 words comprising the results of three exercises. Teaching takes place in the Sociology Laboratory on the first floor of the Flaxman Building with its 20 state-of-the-art personal computers. During the module, students will have the opportunity to use various software packages, including the Internet, Word, Excel and the Mormon transcript of the 1881 census.

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