Gene Hall (of FamilyTrackers.com) has written a good article in his FamilyTrackers Blog called Genealogy Mistakes and Faux Pas for Beginners- Laugh and Learn From Mine:
Nobody told me how to do genealogical research; I learned from trial and error – with a big emphasis on the error. Perhaps you can learn from my mistakes. My wife first suggested a topic called Ten Genealogy Mistakes to Avoid and I thought it would be difficult to come up with ten. In less than five minutes we came up with ten embarrassing things that I have done personally and it looks like this could turn into a Time Life series. So I limited this list to “beginner mistakes” just to keep my ego intact and give you some good ideas to help your search.
A really good article. If you know anybody that is just getting started in genealogy, you need to send them this link. Heck, you should send this to anybody you know that’s into genealogy – even today I still see myself making some of the same mistakes Gene did and I’ve been into genealogy almost as long as he has.