A research plan can help you break through brick walls and keep  you from chasing the proverbial BSO ( B right S hiny O bject) down  a rabbit hole. That is what happens when you suddenly realize it is 1:30 am and you have not found the obituary that you sat down to look for at 7:00 pm. A research plan helps you organize your research. It may show you what records are most likely to answer your research question so you can search those first. If you need to travel to a repository, you can have a list of sources to be searched and their call numbers or other identifying information. You may even be able to email the repository before your visit and have your research sources pulled and ready for you. I emailed the University of Kentucky Special Collections Library a week or so before I planned to be there and when I signed in, the items I needed were waiting for me on a cart. Additionally, I learned that I would not have been able to just walk in, an appointment was requir...