Turning a Broad Search into a Narrow Search

Newspaper research can sometimes be very time-consuming when your inquiries are broad. For example, you may want to know more about family life in the past. Without an index, this would involve looking at every issue of the newspaper for an entire decade. Even with an index, this task can appear daunting.

The key to searching the East Side Journal database for a broad topic is to narrow down your parameters. Look at the list of topics. Ask yourself which categories might pertain to family life. Obvious ones are "Weddings", "Buildings, Residential", "Recreation", "Children" and "Education", but other topics may also contain useful data.

"Ads" can be useful, especially if they are geared for the housewife or homeowner. "Transportation, Lake" may provide an insight into how families used the ferry system to get to and from Seattle. The neighborhood categories (e.g. "Juanita" or "Rose Hill") may lead to articles about community gatherings.

In other words, to narrow your search, broaden your horizons. Scan the categories and think about any possible connection your area of interest may have with them. Looking over the headlines in those categories may just lead you in the right direction. This style of searching will take some time, but when you compare it to actually reading years worth of newspapers, the time you save will be considerable. By focusing on the headlines first, your preparation will make your trip to the newspaper archives much more enjoyable.

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© 1998 - Alan J Stein