Digging Up The Bones: Research for Non-Fiction and Memoir and an Introduction to Genealogy with Kevin Connolly

Course Summary

Have you ever wanted to write about a time, a place, a person, an event, your family, yourself, and wondered how to conduct research relevant to your project? This course will help to guide you through the various stages of your research by exploring a wide variety of sources, both physical and digital, which will help you gather the information that will provide context and a deeper understanding of your subject(s).

You will look at where to look for information and search techniques, including finding images to support your research, with a step-by-step guide to collecting, storing, and accessing your research in a stream-lined efficient way, creating a solid foundation on which to build your narrative and, ultimately, it will guide you towards converting that research into the written word.

Course Outline

The course is divided into 4 two hour sessions. The main content of each session is as follows:

Week 1: A guide to the chief sources of information, both physical and online, that are widely and freely available, including images, and how to access and use them.

Week 2: An introduction to genealogy and the best sources available for genealogical research.

Week 3: Search techniques and how to store your information to maximise the efficiency of your research.

Week 4: Accessing your research and ultimately transforming it into writing.

For each session workshop participants will be expected to apply the information they acquire during the workshop to topics that interest them. There will be short exercises and, as far as possible, these will be related to each individual’s research projects.

Course Outcomes

On completion of this course the participants will have a good understanding of the best resources (digital and physical) freely available for the purposes of conducting research into
their projects. The participants will have a solid introduction to genealogical resources and how to best use them. They will also be furnished with lists of these resources that will
prove to be invaluable for their continued research. The workshop aims to enhance research methods and techniques, and to explore the use of images, including examination of copyright and plagiarism. In addition, participants will have a knowledge of the tools available to help structure, store, and access the fruits of their research.

Kevin Connolly is the author of Yeats and Sligo (Brandon Books, 2010) and Arise and Go: W.B. Yeats and the People and Places that Inspired Him (O’Brien Press, 2019). Kevin has just finished writing a biography of Charles Stewart Parnell called Parnell-An Interpretation. His writings have been published in journals and newspapers both in Ireland and abroad. He possesses a Masters Degree in Library Science with an emphasis on academic research. Kevin was the founder and owner of The Winding Stair Bookshops and Cafés in Dublin and Sligo (1982-2006). He lives in rural Sligo.