Free public domain CC0 image, courtesy RawPixel Crack the Nut, or First Things First What is your  greatest challenge when writing up your research work? For me, it was always writing citations . Key step for me to resolving this was to change my habits and make writing the citation the first thing I do, right in the planning stage. Lead with a Citation How does that make sense, when I've not even found the source I'm looking for? One of the first steps in a research project is planning; narrowing the topic (research question), gathering the context (history and locality), then ranking the possible sources of the needed information by ease of access, reliability, accessibility, cost, and chance of success in answering the question. In the planning stage, we have identified the databases or record groups we want to consult, so this is the right time to craft a citation. All the information we need, except for the specific records you will find is available, so Just Do It Now. A...

 Summer is a great time to travel to the old home places and distant repositories. What's your first step?  Create Your Plan The longer your trip and farther away your destination, the more preparation you will need. Are passport, visa, special vaccinations required? Early on, write away for maps; some are available for free but arrive by mail; good local maps will help in the planning process. How about connections with researchers in the localities you will visit? Join some local societies, and start conversations with the local history groups, libraries, colleges, courthouses, archives and museums. Create a spreadsheet or table to gather names, contact information, closed dates, hours of operation. Before you leave, print your itinerary and the info sheet. Leave a copy at home with friends and family, too.  Prepare short biographies of ancestors who lived locally to leave in vertical files in libraries and archives. Ensure that each bio has your contact information; if...

  This story revolves around the complex family ties and the mystery of Robert Keith Marvin's parentage. Born Charles Audrey Rice in 1922 to Harriet Rice, he was adopted by Ray and Jesse Marvin and renamed Robert Keith Marvin. The adoption was recorded in the Marvin Family Bible, indicating the family's awareness of it. In 1942, Robert accidentally discovered his adoption when he requested his birth certificate. The truth about his biological parents remained a mystery until DNA analysis in 2017 revealed a connection to the Bonebright family line, suggesting that Elmer Bonebright and Harriet Rice were his real parents. Robert passed away in 1970, never knowing his true origins, which were only uncovered nearly a century later through DNA science and his son's determination.   The story begins In the tapestry of family history, few threads are as entwined with mystery and discovery as the lineage of Robert Keith Marvin. Born amidst the snowy peaks of Helena, Montana, in the ...

Dark Matter Structure Courtesy  https://newatlas.com/dark-matter-filaments-found/23281/ Physics Scientists estimate that there is five times the amount of "dark matter" in the universe than regular matter. Matter is everything that we can see, measure, or experience outside of thought, imagination and spiritual experience. But dark matter can so far only be simulated, although it must exist because of the powerful gravitational force it exerts within our cosmos. The latest NOVA on PBS, " Decoding the Universe: Cosmos " is about the discoveries in astrophysics in the past 50 years. An image of the theoretical structure of this dark matter struck me so strongly I had to pause the program and begin writing to you and thinking about why that image stopped me. The scientists are working with dark matter, and dark energy, about which they still know little, and yet it surrounds us, unseen . Re-watching this NOVA, I'm struck over and over by the parallels between our r...