Start with place, time and jurisdiction
First determine which nation and historical jurisdiction created the record. England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland operate different civil, census, church and probate systems, while the Isle of Man and Channel Islands have their own arrangements. Record county, parish and registration district before choosing a database.
Follow the strongest record sequence
Use censuses to reconstruct households, civil indexes and certificates to confirm life events, and parish registers to extend research before civil registration. Probate, military and migration records can add relationships and addresses. Discovery identifies records held by The National Archives and many other UK repositories, but not every item is digitised.
Preserve evidence and local context
Cite the responsible nation, repository, collection, piece or reference, schedule or page and image provider. Commercial indexes may link to official records but can contain transcription errors. Reconcile birthplace changes, age rounding and reused family names before concluding that two records describe the same person.