Consulting

Investigation

1. Goals agreed upon between the client and us
2. Reiteration of the Research Plan, preventing confusion for the client or us
3. Timelines included, where needed, to provide a chronological order for the life of an individual
4. Citations to sources searched and documents located
5. Evaluation of the findings (what information was discovered)
6. Conclusion of the findings (what the information reveals to us)
7. Resources Left to Comb (the next Research Plan)

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Tips For Hiring A Professional Genealogist

• A Professional will suggest that you start with yourself and work backwards when first beginning your research. This is so you do not go astray and find yourself tracing the incorrect family lines.
• It is important to know what it is you wish the Professional to do for you.
• Have well organized questions setup so that there is no confusion as to what it is you are hiring the professional for.
• Do not be put off by the professional that asks you many questions before taking on the job. They are doing their job by being responsible to you as a potential client.
• Be prepared to answer questions that the professional may have for you:
  • The professional should ask you what it is you want answered
  • What information have you collected on your own
  • Where did you find this information
• A Professional will suggest that you collect as much documentation and information from family and friends as possible. Share all that you have with the professional so that they can make an appropriate analysis and not duplicate efforts.
• Be prepared to send copies of any documentation for the professional to analyze
• Ask the professional how many hours they feel you should start with
• Ask the professional their fees
• Ask the professional for background information on their experience and education
• A good professional will tell you if they feel you should seek help from other professionals
• A good professional will tell you if they feel comfortable working on your request
• Be prepared to pay up front for so many hours. Many professionals will offer various packages with different hours depending on your needs. A good professional will give you suggestions on which package you may need depending on what you require of them. Six hours is not unusual to start with as this will give the professional time to analyze what you want, what information you have provided and come up with an initial research plan and perhaps some research time depending on the request you have made. This allotment of time will give you a good idea if you wish to continue with the research or not.
• Note that costs apply to all research done regardless of out come. Remember the professional has to still spend the time researching documentation. There are many reasons your ancestor may not be where he should have been within various records. If for example he should have been found in the 1861 census in a certain area, perhaps he was missed by enumerators, he was not staying at that address the night the enumerators came (enumerators could only enumerate who was there that night most often) or perhaps his name was misspelled.
• Cost for expenses like photocopies, postage, parking, etc. will be expected to be paid by you on top of the fee charged by the professional
• Any large charges should be discussed with you in advance for example if a professional had to travel out of town to do research.
• A good professional will include a report with their research. This is important because it will allow you to follow the research process without any confusion, have the research documented with sources cited for future generations, as well as providing an efficient reference for continuous research.
• A good professional will include the time spent on the research, analysis and report
• Look for a professional:
  • At the APG website
  • Word of mouth from other people who have used the researcher
  • However, still apply the tips on hiring a professional to anyone you intend to hire.
• Do not expect the professional to spend a few hours of their time with you while you try to decide if you want to hire them or not. If you are prepared a head of time you will know if you want to hire them or not. Remember the professional has obligations to other clients.
• Do not send email with several attachments with documents expecting the professional to analysis every record to see if it is worth their time to help you. Downloading this information is very time consuming. If you are asked to send this information as part of the paid job this is different.
• There will be no guarantee of proof for membership into any group (i.e. Native Status, UEL, Mayflower Society, etc), unless this is the agreement you have made with the Professional
• Patience's with the research and report writing process is important. Responses from letters written to others or various archives, libraries etc takes time.
• Unexpected findings regarding your research request may arise. The Professional will use their discretion on reporting these findings (will it be costly to the client, will this be hard to find again, does the client really want this information or not). If it is something reasonable the professional may choose to go a head and report it to you, if it will entail more hours of work or cost quite a bit the professional should discuss this with the client before going a head with this work.
• Remember most professionals are very passionate about what they do. They have your best interest at heart. They will take on your quest as if it were their own family. They will rejoice in the findings with you and feel the heartbreak and disappointment of not finding a thing.

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