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Best of ESM Methodology and Skills

What’s the Evidence? How to Probe Documents Beyond the Obvious

Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL
Jun 23, 2023
2.5K views
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Content

Play. Playing.
Welcome
2m 00s
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Class Overview
1m 27s
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Introduction
9m 14s
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John Watts
15m 37s
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Captain Walton
4m 58s
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Back to John
1m 58s
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Strategies
14m 36s
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What's the Evidence?
13m 45s
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Announcements / prizes
2m 33s
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Questions / answers
11m 44s

About this webinar

Whatever our research dilemma, a correct solution depends upon a reliable evaluation of the evidence we are using. Evidence is not concrete. It is not definitive. It is not a source. It is not a fact. It is not “proof.” It is, instead, our interpretation of what a piece of information means. Evidence is both singular and collective. We analyze it piece by piece. We correlate each piece with everything else discoverable, and then we analyze the whole to reach conclusions that are reliable. This session walks us through the three levels at which each piece of information should be evaluated, in order to draw a reliable conclusion from it. The principles are then illustrated with a common but thorny problem: a Revolutionary War–era case study that might be called: How to Identify Someone Who’s Been Mangled by ‘Facts.’

*** This class requires an active webinar membership to attend. ***

About the speaker

About the speaker

Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL
Across a long career, Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS, has been an innovator of research methods and strategies. Published widely by academic and popular presses, she edited a national-level scholarly journal for 16 years, taught
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  1. TT
    tina tuttle
    4 months ago

    Fantastic step by step breakdown of the thinking and analysis by a pro.
    I would love to know: How many hours went into this for each step (or just the total). I’m doing a similar project for a 94 year old, gratis, and am at 25+ hours, far beyond what I had estimated. This reasonably exhaustive investigation is much aided by new AI tools at Familysearch etc, but its still terriby time consuming and depends on the quality, sharpness and willingness of the researcher to persevere.

    Reply
  2. HH
    Harold Harrison
    2 years ago

    Thank You. Now I realize just how much I don’t know.

    Reply
  3. ED
    Elaine Drury
    2 years ago

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge, it was great

    Reply
  4. WV
    Webinar Viewer
    2 years ago

    Wonderful presentation as usual.

    Reply
  5. BM
    Barbara McGeachy
    2 years ago

    What an amazing researcher! She is the highest level of thoroughness and accuracy. Inspiriational!

    Reply
  6. MB
    Margaret Balcom
    2 years ago

    Any Elizabeth Shown Mills webinar is 5 star!! Thank you for sharing your wisdom!!

    Reply
  7. DZ
    Della Zane
    2 years ago

    I love what I’m learning through the ESM webinars. She amazes me every time. Mind blown!

    Reply
  8. TD
    Teresa Dunlap
    2 years ago

    Demonstrated the ease of getting same name people confused.

    Reply
Show all comments

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