Follow Friday: A Scandalous Topic that will Help You Improve Your Research

Polly Kimmitt over at Pollyblog has written a terrific 3-part blog that takes the reader through document transcription and analysis and then demonstrates building a research plan for future research.  Even more exciting is that the posts are on the very colorful topic of bastardy and fornication in 1802.

Polly examines Justice of the Peace records for two women who claimed paternity suits against the same man on the same day. Not only will Polly show you how to analyze these unusual records but you will learn how  cases like these were historically handled.

Part 1 and Part 2 deal with the individual document and their transcriptions.  Part 3 analyzes the records, puts them into historical context, analyzes the quality of the document source and then presents a research plan for future research.  The research plan alone presents a wonderful example of how to create a plan for your own projects.

If you haven't read this 3-part series yet please do!  You'll enjoy a fascinating topic and improve your research at the same time.

Part 1 - Justice of the Peace Records and Silvanus "Who's Your Daddy" Savage, Part 1

Part 2 - Justice of the Peace Records and Silvanus "Who's Your Daddy" Savage, Part 2

Part 3 - Justice of the Peace Records and Silvanus "Who's Your Daddy" Savage, Part 3