“I just found out that I’m descended from King Edward V of England!” your friend tells you excitedly.

“Really?” you ask. “What proof do you have?”

How do we prove something when it comes to genealogy and family history research? Just how much information and evidence do we need?

The answer is, it depends.

You might only need one original record containing primary information from a trustworthy informant that provides direct evidence for your research question. Or, it could take many derivative records containing secondary or indeterminable information.

The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) was created by the Board for Certification of Genealogists. It’s used to create sound, credible genealogical proof statements, and gives genealogists a standard to measure conclusions against.

Because I love a good visual, I created this process flowchart to walk you through proper genealogical research using the concepts and ideas of the GPS.  –Marc McDermott, Genealogyexplained.com (used by permission)  

Editor’s note: The link for this flowchart is also available under our GFHC Resources tab.