Family history needs to be accurate, otherwise the people you find will not be your family.

Most people who research their family history are not trained in historical research, but everyone can be a good genealogist, by learning appropriate skills and techniques.

The Good Genealogist. How to Improve the Quality of Your Family History is a practical guide for everyone researching their family history. It will help those who are just beginning their journey to start out right and it will help more experienced researchers to reassess and refine their approach.

The book focuses on the importance of taking a systematic approach to family history, based on historical research methodology. It introduces the concept of the research process cycle, then each chapter guides the reader through a group of skills, discussing common errors and how to rectify them. Importantly, this book does not just give you checklists and templates to fill in, although some are included. What it does is teach you how to think - about the past, about research, about the sources and about the information. Each chapter also provides techniques and tools to help you put your new approach to research into practice.