Saturday, March 7, 2026

03072026b example 1 (same name)

Here is a concrete, story-style case study you can walk through in a training session, using the collection, tag, and note patterns we discussed.zotero+1

Scenario: two men with the same name in one county

Imagine you are trying to distinguish between two men named John Clark in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, active in the early 1900s. Your research question: “Which records belong to John Clark (born circa 1875, farmer, north of town) and which belong to John Clark (born circa 1880, railroad worker, in town)?”[forums.zotero]​

Step 1: Set up collections

You create or use a “Genealogy Projects / Case Studies” library, as in the Zotero-for-genealogy pattern.[forums.zotero]​

  • Top-level collection: Genealogy Projects / Case Studies

  • Subcollection for this case: Clark – Two Johns, Okmulgee Co. (1900–1930)

Within that subcollection you add working subcollections (adapted from the standard case-study structure shared in the Zotero genealogy forum):[forums.zotero]​

  • 00 – Research Question & Plan

  • 01 – Census & Enumerations

  • 02 – Vital & Church Records

  • 03 – Land & Property

  • 04 – Probate & Court

  • 05 – Newspapers & Obits

  • 06 – Local Histories & Directories

  • 07 – DNA & Modern Evidence (if applicable)

  • 09 – Proof Drafts

     

Each new source item is stored in exactly one “lowest” subcollection (for example, a 1910 census entry goes into 01 – Census & Enumerations), mirroring the “place each source once” rule used in published Zotero genealogy workflows.[forums.zotero]​

Step 2: Define and apply tags

Using Zotero’s collections-and-tags model, you design tags that link people, families, and events without duplicating items.[zotero]​

Person tags (two men, clearly distinguished):

  • P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer

  • P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad

Family and couple tags:

  • C:John Clark (1875– ) + Mary Jones

  • C:John Clark (1880– ) + Ella Brown

Event tags (core genealogy events):

  • E:Census

  • E:Birth

  • E:Marriage

  • E:Death

  • E:Land

  • E:Probate

    E:Migration 

Status and quality tags (for workflow and evidence analysis):

  • S:To be analyzed

  • S:Correlated

  • S:Ready for proof

  • Q:Original (image of original record)

  • Q:Derivative (indexed database, transcript, etc.)

Every time you add a new item, you assign:

  • One or more person tags (which John is in this record?)

  • Any relevant couple or family tag

  • At least one event tag

  • At least one status tag (S:To be analyzed initially) and a quality tag (Q:Original or Q:Derivative)

This follows Zotero’s own guidance that tags can represent topics, methods, and workflow status, not just subjects.[zotero]​

Step 3: Add sample items and show tagging

In a training session, you can pre-load four or five sample sources and walk through them:

  1. 1900 census entry – rural enumeration district

    • Collection: 01 – Census & Enumerations

    • Tags: P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer, C:John Clark (1875– ) + Mary Jones, E:Census, Q:Original, S:To be analyzed

  2. 1900 census entry – town enumeration district

    • Tags: P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad, C:John Clark (1880– ) + Ella Brown, E:Census, Q:Original, S:To be analyzed

  3. 1915 land deed north of town

    • Collection: 03 – Land & Property

    • Tags: P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer, E:Land, Q:Original, S:To be analyzed

  4. 1918 city directory listing railroad worker

    • Collection: 06 – Local Histories & Directories

    • Tags: P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad, E:Census (or E:Residence if you prefer), Q:Derivative, S:To be analyzed

  5. 1925 probate file for “John Clark” (ambiguous)

    • Collection: 04 – Probate & Court

    • Tags (initially): P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer, P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad, E:Probate, Q:Original, S:To be analyzed

You can demonstrate how the same item can live in one collection but carry multiple tags for both men until you decide which one the record actually belongs to.[zotero]​

Step 4: Use saved searches to “see” each man’s evidence set

With tags in place, you build saved searches that your trainees can repeat on their own.zotero+1

Example saved searches:

  • “John (1875) – all evidence”

    • Condition: Tag P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer

  • “John (1880) – all evidence”

    • Condition: Tag P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad

  • “John (1875) – land and probate only”

    • Conditions: Tag P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer AND (Tag E:Land OR Tag E:Probate)

  • “Ambiguous or not yet assigned”

    • Condition: Tag S:To be analyzed AND Tag P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer AND Tag P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad

Running these saved searches live shows your class how the same underlying library can display a person-centric view, an event-centric view, or a “needs-analysis” view just by changing search conditions rather than rearranging collections.[zotero]​

Step 5: Note templates to capture analysis

Drawing on long-standing Zotero best-practices for using notes in writing workflows, you attach structured notes to each source.[forums.zotero]​

For each item, you create a child note titled:

  • Source summary – 1900 census, Okmulgee Co., ED 15, sheet 3

Note template components:

  • “Abstract” paragraph: what the record says in your own words.

  • “People mentioned” list: using the same person strings as your tags for easy copy-paste.

  • “Analysis” paragraph:

    • Why you assign this record to John (1875) vs. John (1880) (occupation, neighbors, location, age).

    • Any conflicts (age off by five years, inconsistent birthplace).

    • What next step you plan (e.g., “search land records for neighbors Smith and Johnson”).

Then you create one top-level note in the 00 – Research Question & Plan subcollection:

  • Title: Research log – Clark two Johns (Okmulgee)

  • Contents: dated entries, each with

    • Brief description of the step.

    • Zotero item link to the relevant sources.

This mirrors genealogy training materials that recommend using Zotero notes for research logs and evolving research plans.[static.libnet]​

Step 6: Move ambiguous items through your workflow

In a later session, you can demonstrate how to use tags to reflect analysis decisions:

  • After you decide the 1925 probate file belongs to the older John, you remove the P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad tag from that item.

  • You change its status tag from S:To be analyzed to S:Correlated or S:Ready for proof.

  • Your “Ambiguous or not yet assigned” saved search automatically shrinks, visually confirming progress.zotero+1

Finally, you show how to gather all S:Ready for proof items for each man and export a bibliography or insert footnote citations into a word processor to support a written proof argument.zotero+1

How to present this in a training session

In a 45–60 minute class, you might:

  1. Start with the question (two men with same name) and show the project collection.[forums.zotero]​

  2. Introduce the tag scheme and add tags to one or two items live.[zotero]​

  3. Build a saved search for one John and run it.

  4. Open one source note and talk through the analysis template.[forums.zotero]​

  5. Reassign an ambiguous probate record from “both” Johns to just one, updating tags and status so participants see the workflow in action.

    Here is a matching one‑page outline for the documentary‑only John Clark case that pairs cleanly with the DNA version.

    Zotero Case Study: Documentary Evidence for Two Men Named John Clark

    1. Research Question

    • Two men named John Clark live in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, in the early 1900s.

    • Question: “Which records belong to John Clark (farmer, north of town) and which belong to John Clark (railroad worker, in town)?”

    2. Library & Collection Setup

    • Library: “Genealogy Projects / Case Studies”

    • Case‑study collection: Clark – Two Johns, Okmulgee Co. (1900–1930)

    Suggested subcollections:

    • 00 – Research Question & Plan

    • 01 – Census & Enumerations

    • 02 – Vital & Church Records

    • 03 – Land & Property

    • 04 – Probate & Court

    • 05 – Newspapers & Obits

    • 06 – Local Histories & Directories

    • 07 – Associates & FAN Club

    • 09 – Proof Drafts

    Each new documentary source is stored in exactly one “best fit” subcollection.

    3. Tagging Scheme (Core Pieces)

    Person & family tags

    • P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer

    • P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad

    • C:John Clark (1875– ) + Mary Jones

    • C:John Clark (1880– ) + Ella Brown

    Event tags

    • E:Birth

    • E:Marriage

    • E:Death

    • E:Census

    • E:Land

    • E:Probate

    • E:Residence

    Quality & status tags

    • Q:Original / Q:Derivative

    • S:To be analyzed

    • S:Correlated

    • S:Ready for proof

    Apply person + event + quality + status tags to every item.

    4. Example Documentary Items in Zotero

    1. 1900 census – rural enumeration district

      • Collection: 01 – Census & Enumerations

      • Tags: P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer, C:John Clark (1875– ) + Mary Jones, E:Census, Q:Original, S:To be analyzed

    2. 1900 census – town enumeration district

      • Tags: P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad, C:John Clark (1880– ) + Ella Brown, E:Census, Q:Original, S:To be analyzed

    3. 1915 deed for land north of town

      • Collection: 03 – Land & Property

      • Tags: P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer, E:Land, Q:Original, S:To be analyzed

    4. 1918 city directory listing railroad worker

      • Collection: 06 – Local Histories & Directories

      • Tags: P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad, E:Residence, Q:Derivative, S:To be analyzed

    5. 1925 probate file for “John Clark” (initially ambiguous)

      • Collection: 04 – Probate & Court

      • Tags: both person tags, E:Probate, Q:Original, S:To be analyzed

    5. Saved Searches (Views)

    Create named saved searches for fast, person‑centric views:

    • “John (1875) – all records”

      • Tag contains P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer

    • “John (1880) – all records”

      • Tag contains P:Clark, John (1880– ) – railroad

    • “John (1875) – land & probate”

      • Tag contains P:Clark, John (1875– ) – farmer AND (Tag contains E:Land OR E:Probate)

    • “Ambiguous Clark items”

      • Tag contains S:To be analyzed AND has both person tags

    Use these in class to show how filters change the working set without moving items between collections.

    6. Notes for Analysis and Proof

    Source Summary notes (one per item)

    • Title example: Source summary – 1900 census, Okmulgee Co., ED 15, sheet 3

    • Sections:

      • Abstract (what the record says)

      • People mentioned (using the same person strings as tags)

      • Analysis (why assigned to which John, conflicts, next steps)

    Research Log note

    • Location: 00 – Research Question & Plan

    • Title: Research log – Clark two Johns (Okmulgee)

    • Contents: dated entries, each with

      • Step taken and repository searched

      • Zotero item link to relevant sources

      • Negative searches recorded as well

    Proof Draft note

    • Location: 09 – Proof Drafts

    • Title: Proof Draft – Distinguishing the Two John Clarks

    • Sections:

      • Question

      • Summary of evidence

      • Correlation (timeline, identity points, neighbors/FAN)

      • Conflict resolution

      • Conclusion

    7. Teaching Flow (For Your Session)

    1. Present the “two Johns” question and show the project collection.

    2. Demonstrate adding one census item and tagging it live.

    3. Build the “John (1875) – all records” saved search.

    4. Open a Source Summary note and model a short analysis.

    5. Revisit the 1925 probate file, decide which John it fits, remove one person tag, change status from S:To be analyzed to S:Correlated, and show how saved searches and notes reflect that decision.


     


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