a web bibiliography

If you're reading this, then you are very likely to perform web research of one kind or another. This little tutorial will save you a lot of headache when you wonder a few months from now where you saw that really cool whatever-it-was, or found that obscure reference to one of your ancestors.

I promise, once you've done this a couple times, it will be second nature, and you will be much happier with yourself. This is also on Wiki-How, my very first wiki page.

Let's say you're going to do some research on Ancestry.com. I have, and by following these steps I have a record now of most of the things I found there.

1- Open up a blank WORD document, or another program that will allow you to paste and view pictures.

SAVE your documents with a name like BROWN_websearch_6-10-06.doc or SCOTLAND, Perthshire_ws_6-12-06.doc
Go from general to specific in naming them and it will be so much easier to search through all your files on your computer later on. ESPECIALLY if you add the date to the file name.

2- When you go to your website of choice, at the opening page (in full screen) press (on your keyboard) CTRL and PRINT SCREEN at the same time. This appears to do nothing until you go back to your Word document.

3- Go back to your word document, click in the document and either RIGHT CLICK and select PASTE, or press CTRL and "V" . You should now have a snapshot of your computer screen a moment ago. This will include the website's address and what it looks like. If it was full screen, you'll also have a snapshot of the time you visited it. Pretty neat, huh? You're not done.

4- As you explore the website, if you find something relevant, before you throw a party and print it out for everyone, repeat the above steps 2 through 3. It is VERY important to know WHERE you got your information (and where you didn't). All you need to do is press ENTER once after you paste a picture in the document. [If you do not select a photo first (by accident?) nothing should happen to the others as you pile them in.]

If you have several windows open at once, or you just don't have it open fully, press CTRL + ALT + PRINT SCREEN to snapshot your monitor. This leaves out the other still. You can usually crop these pictures, too, so you get a wider view of the pertinant information, but leave at least one with the full web references.
To crop, click the picture, and a picture editing toolbar should pop up. There's a symbol that looks like a crosshair but almost like a swastika and that allows you to drag the edges of the picture to the desired size.

Try to keep a seperate file for each surname, location, or subject you are researching. This speeds up the citation of sources later on. You can go to your file and your documents and see you've been to xyz website already with no favorable results. Yes, even document the sites you go to and find nothing. That way you don't retrace your steps, or, in some circumstances, you can if they make updates.

You can write notes in the document itself between the screen pictures. Or, once you're done for the day, you can print the document and handwrite your notes on the paper. Think about wether you'll ever EVER need to forward your notes to someone... Can you scan/copy your handwritten notes or should you just do it now? That's up to you.