Understanding Archives - Getting the Most From Your Research (481)
This course was previously called "Researching In Archives for Advanced Genealogists" but has been renamed to make it more clear that it is suitable for students working at an intermediate and advanced level.
Moving from online records to researching in archives can be a daunting prospect. However, with such a small proportion of records available online, the serious researcher must make use of all repositories available to him. In order to have the greatest chance of success the researcher should understand how records are kept and how they are most effectively accessed.
In this course you will learn about the record-keeping framework in England and Wales and be introduced to the cataloguing process and the way archives are arranged and described. You will learn where to find national, local and specialist collections, and recognise which repository or archives is the most likely custodian, and how to plan your research day in the archives to make the best use of your time.
You will be introduced to conservation and access issues for fragile documents and get practice finding the documents you are looking for.
Note: Access to archives is not necessary to be able to take this course, it can be taken completely online.
Reading List:
Students often ask us for recommended reading for their courses, that they can look at before the course starts. Here is a suggested book list for this course.
Lesson Headings:
- Archives History and Principles
- What the Family and Local Historian needs to know about Cataloguing
- Beyond the County Record Office
- Using Archives
Relevant countries: England, Wales
What to expect:
Each lesson includes lesson notes, activities and forum exercises for students to complete during the week and a one-hour live tutorial (text chat or Zoom) with the tutor and the rest of the class. Times for the tutorials are set at the beginning of each course by the tutor.
This is an assessed course. The length of the course given is the number of teaching weeks but students should also allow time in the couple of weeks after the course ends to complete assignments.
- Tutor: Else Churchill
- Length: 4 weeks
- Start date: Tue 15 Sep 2026
- Start date: Tue 14 Sep 2027