Putting it into practice
Challenge 1
READ, READ, READ
Read about the record collections you are searching to discover the details of missing records. On some websites you will find details mentioning gaps in the area or datespan covered. This may be because records weren’t kept in the first place, have been subsequently destroyed, or because the collection is only partially digitised.
Challenge 2
KEEP A RESEARCH LOG
Keep a research log, recording which collections you searched and when – then if the collection is updated in the future you can repeat your search.