In Research Like a Pro this week, we learned about creating a genealogy timeline in Airtable for the Source Analysis step and about the Source Citations step.
As a reminder, here are the elements of the Research Like a Pro process
- 1) Research Objective
- 2) Source Analysis
- 3) Locality Research
- 4) Research Plan
- 5) Source Citations
- 6) Research Log
- 7) Write a Report
Timelines
Building a genealogy timeline is a fantastic way to analyze known information and materials as you begin a project. Create timelines on a Word table or a spreadsheet of any type. The RLP lesson focused on creating genealogy timelines in a free online program called Airtable.
What is Airtable?
My definition of an Airtable base is a spreadsheet on steroids or a combination of a spreadsheet and a database. Linking fields with a few clicks makes it a powerful tool. Additionally, you can filter, sort, or group the data in Airtable. Watch Nicole’s Airtable Research Logs blog post for a deeper dive into creating a genealogy timeline in Airtable. Here are a few basics to get you started.
Airtable Basics
Airtable uses different terminology than a regular spreadsheet. Here are some definitions:
- Base: A base refers to the whole spreadsheet.
- Table: Tables are worksheets within a base, displayed as tabs along the top
- Field: Fields are columns within a table
- Record: A record is a row within a table.
Sharing Airtable Bases:
Sharing a link to your Genealogy Timeline in Airtable is a great way to collaborate with other researchers. Find examples of “base” templates from other users at Airtable Universe. Use the search bar to find Nicole Dyer’s page, or click here to access Nicole’s Airtable bases at Airtable Universe.
Nicole has several different bases to choose from. I have used and adapted her bases for my projects over the past two years, including my John Stokes FAN Club Research Log.
Key Airtable Features
Field Type: One reason Airtable makes a successful genealogy research log is the ability to assign a specific field type to enable that field to function differently. To select or edit a field type click the pulldown arrow in the top right of the field heading > choose Edit Field > use the pulldown arrow to select the field type. When you don’t want to see fields for any reason, you can temporarily hide them.
Examples of Field Types I use the most
URL Field: Handles URLs beautifully, even very long ones!
Single Line Text Field: Allows a single line of text
Long Text Field: Allows many rows of text
- Click the diagonal arrows in the top left corner to expand the cell and see all text.
- Use the return key to enter a new line in the cell (return does not move the cursor to the next cell, like Excel or Google Sheets).
- To allow bold and italics, enable rich text formatting by clicking the arrow in the top left of a field > select Edit field > in the pulldown, select Long text > toggle on Enable rich text formatting.
Multiple Select Field: Enter different words or phrases, and Airtable makes reusable tags you can sort, filter, or group. This is my favorite field type!
Other Airtable Features
Sort, Group, and Filter
Sorting, grouping, and filtering in a genealogy timeline in Airtable is a breeze. Select a specific field to sort, group or filter. The Sort option orders each record entry in the field alphabetically or chronologically, forward or backward. The Group option reorders each record entry according to the information in the cell for that field. The Filter option only shows the selected word or phrase in that field. All records without the selected word or phrase are displayed separately.
Airtable Views
An Airtable “view” takes the original table and allows a new way to “view” the original data. Create and name a new view, then sort, filter, or group in the new “view” and still keep the original data intact. Each time you want to see the data organized in a certain way, just go to that view. Remember that if you erase a record while using a different view, Airtable erases it from the original data. To learn more about Airtable views, listen to Nicole and Diana’s RLP Podcast called “Saving Views of your Airtable Research Log”
Linking Records to Another Table:
Nicole designed her Airtable Research Logs with a field (column) in the Research Log table called “Person” that links each record entry to the “People” table. Linking records allows you to correlate records that mention other family members or FANs. Watch Nicole’s How to Use Airtable to Create a Genealogy FAN Club Research Log video for more explanation.
My Airtable Timeline for John Stokes
My Airtable research log for John Stokes is quite involved. To simplify and avoid entering (or copying and pasting) repeat information into two different tables, I combined the “Research Log” table and the “Timeline” table. Then, I added a “multiple select” field named “Timeline.” This “multiple select” field allows me to tag record entries that I want to see in a timeline. Next, I created a new view and named it “Timeline.”
In this view, I sorted the “Year” field A→Z for a chronological sort, and then I filtered the “Timeline” field to show only records with a “Timeline” tag.
I also created tables for John’s sons containing records specific to them.
My Airtable Timeline for John’s Father
My RLP project goes back in time a generation, so I started a new genealogy timeline in Airtable from scratch. I named the base “Unknown Stokes 0,” since I don’t know the identity of John’s father yet. The 0 refers to his place in the generational numbering system I created for this project. I covered this numbering system in my RLP: Objective blog post last week. Additionally, I gave the more than 20 research candidates each a candidate number, starting with Jonathon Stokes 1.
Fields on My “People” Table:
The fields on a People table can vary according to the project’s purpose. I created fields called:
- Name
- Linked to Record
- Role
- Birth
- Key Record
- Death
- Residences
- Relationships
- etc.
This allows me to quickly view information for each candidate to be John’s father. Here is a screenshot of the left side of my people table for Unknown Stokes 0.
I again combined the Research Log table and the Timeline table into one table called Research Log. Then I created a field called “Timeline” to tag each record I want to show up in the Timeline. Next, I numbered the Timeline tags to correlate with the candidate numbers. Lastly, to see a timeline for each candidate, I created a “view” called Timeline and then grouped by the timeline field.
Next Actions:
To keep track of what I need to do next, I added a multiple-select field called “Next Actions.” I create colored tags in this field as I need them. For example, I have tags that say, Add & Cite, Find, Add results, etc. When I finish a task, I delete the button from that cell to “check” the task as finished.
Source Citations
This week’s other RLP process step is creating genealogy source citation templates. First of all, I keep my citation templates in a Google Sheet so I can share them with my Genealogy Source Citations Simplified students. To keep my citations consistent, I use a master template to create record-type templates for my bank. Then, I use these templates to create a citation for each specific source. Click here if you are interested in a Free Citation Template Starter Kit.
Below is a screenshot of my Record-Type Template Bank organized by general record-type categories with each tab along the bottom. The columns specify a more precise record type and the repository for each citation template entry.
First, when creating a citation, I copy and paste the record-type template into my Airtable research log. Next, I analyze the source and adjust the template as appropriate. To see my process in action, watch my YouTube Videos Genealogy Source Citation Templates in Action: Color-Coding and Genealogy Source Citation Templates in Action: Creating Templates.
I hope you enjoy learning about the Research Like a Pro Process! Next week’s blog post is about the Source Analysis step.