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Surname Study and AI Part 5: Adding City Directories
In this series of posts about a surname study, Part 1 described the study, Part 2 included how census data was collected and formatted for use and Part 3 described how to combine and analyze the census data. Part 4 showed how to create a project as part of a surname study (or any any task you are doing). In this part, adding collecting and adding data from city directories to the surname study will be discussed. When I was approaching this project without AI, I had gathered many records. I had compiled them in spreadsheets, planning...
read moreSurname Study and AI Part 4: Making A ChatGPT Project
In this series of posts about a surname study, Part 1 described the study, Part 2 included how census data was collected and formatted for use and Part 3 described how to combine and analyze the census data. This blog post will show how to create a project in ChatGPT. Even though the example shows creating a project as part of a surname study, the steps can be used for any task you are doing. In the work done during the previous part of my project, I asked ChatGPT: Would it be good to have this chat in a project? ChatGPT...
read moreSurname Study and AI Part 3: Combining Census Data
In this series of posts about a surname study, Part 1 described the study and Part 2 included how census data was collected and formatted for use. Census data definitely provides a backbone for research about a family. In this case, I had collected census data from both the federal censuses and the Rhode Island state censuses that were described previously. The next step was to use AI to combine the census data, then analyze it to create that backbone. I wanted ChatGPT to build backbones for the multiple families in the...
read moreGoogle NotebookLM Tutorial
This is it! You have decided to give Google’s NotebookLM a try! Maybe you want step-by-step instructions, or just want to look over the process before diving in. Either way, this tutorial stands ready to help. What will you do in this Notebook? One suggestion is to upload a group of documents related to a subject or ancestor. These are documents that you want to understand better or analyze. Don’t overthink it. You just need to have an idea of your subject, because once you begin to use the Notebook more ideas will probably...
read moreHave You Tried Google’s NotebookLM Yet?
Trying out NotebookLM has been on my to-do list for months. I just did, and I was blown away by it. The accessibility of technologies that I knew existed but had so well not seen integrated was impressive. You can chat with the AI about what has been added to the Notebook, and you can generate products based on what the uploaded documents. The AI-generated media and responses in the Notebook are all based on the documents that you upload to it, which should reduce the opportunity for AI hallucinations. Keep in mind that the best idea is...
read moreSurname Study and AI Part 2: Collecting Census Data
In the Surname Study and AI Part 1 post, I described the reasons that motivated me to undertake a surname study in Rhode Island, US, and the approach I took. The use of AI tools to help with formatting, visualizing and analyzing data is a goal in this latest iteration of the project. Both US Population and Rhode Island State Census data were used as a backbone for the study. My next step was to use AI to capture the transcriptions of key record information from the censuses, and work to normalize it. For this first step, I...
read moreFinding WWII Rosters Online at NARA
For researching a WWI or a WWII soldier, have you considered using the Rosters at NARA? They are located Series: Muster Rolls and Rosters, November 1, 1912–December 31, 1943 within Record Group 64. This blog post will show where to search for rosters, including how to use an online finding aid for finding WWII rosters that will make your task much easier. The rosters are arranged in three subseries within Muster Rolls and Rosters, November 1, 1912–December 31, 1943: Muster Rolls, November 1, 1912 – June 30, 1918 and...
read moreNow Open: “Tracing Your New York Ancestors with the NYG&B”
Are you researching Ancestors in New York State? If so, you will probably be interested in the free on-demand online course from The New York Genealogy & Biographical Society: “Tracing Your New York Ancestors with the NYG&B.” In the six video sessions of the course, you will learn about NYG&B, its services, membership and publications. The sessions cover the use of their online collections. When you sign up for the course, you have 60 days to complete it. During that time you can review the on-demand lectures...
read moreSurname Study and AI Part 1: The Approach
This blog post begins a series of posts exploring an ongoing surname study and my recent use of artificial intelligence (AI) in it. In this post, I will describe the history of getting to this point in my efforts. Over the course of several years, I have been working on a surname study. My goal was to find out if and how families who lived in Rhode Island from 1850-1900 were connected. Chain migration to the United States from Ireland was entirely likely, and by connecting these family units I could potentially research collateral...
read moreBook Review: Your Stripped Bare Guide
Having earned a Ph.D., worked as a professor, and published research, I know that citing sources is essential in academic work. Having published in multiple disciplines, I have used different styles of citations and variations of those styles. Students can usually understand why direct quotations need to be cited, but do not always grasp why the facts they use in their writing must also be attributed. The methods in technical papers are explained so that they can be reproducible. For a technical discipline, citations can be used by...
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