Wednesday, June 30, 2010

IGHR - Course 4 - Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis

This is the first in a series of articles featuring the courses offered at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research.  See my previous article on IGHR for additional details on the institute.

Guest author: Debra Hoffman, New Windsor, Maryland

IGHR's Course 4, Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis, lived up to expectations and its reputation. The objective of the course was to change your mindset. The renowned genealogist, Elizabeth Shown Mills, was the course coordinator. The week of lectures and exercises were designed to challenge the students and teach them to think about genealogical problems and documents in different ways. It certainly accomplished that goal! This course is not for the faint of heart as besides a full day of lectures there was homework each evening. This was the 25th year for this course and all twenty-six students appeared to enjoy the experience. This course should be taken by all serious genealogists as the class examples are challenging and complex and teach advanced methodology and evidence analysis. My favorite exercises where studying actual document samples and trying to determine how to "squeeze" every last clue out of them...as Elizabeth Shown Mills would say.

Any student considering enrolling should know that when registration opened this past January, it filled in about 40 minutes! Additionally, the IGHR Web site notes that there is a prerequisite of completion of IGHR Course 2, Intermediate Genealogy and Historical Studies; completion of the 16-lesson NGS home-study course, American Genealogy ("graded" option, only); completion of the PLCGS program (Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies) from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, University of Toronto; certification by BCG; or accreditation from ICAPGen. If you do not meet one of the prerequisites but would like to enroll in the advanced course, you can also submit a paper demonstrating skill level in research, documentation and evidence evaluation.

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