After you have obtained your documents (either originals; photocopies; or extracts from books, microfilms, or interviews) it is time to file them in your Family Research Folder, typing them first if you desire.

If you have several pages, place them in the order you wish and number them beginning with number 1 and continue on until each page has a number. Each page added through further research receives the next consecutive number. (see Figure 17) There may be some documents you don't want to write on. These can be placed in plastic page protectors; a small piece of masking tape or a small label can be placed on the plastic page protector; and then the number can be written onto the tape or label.

If you have only one page of notes or one document, it becomes number 1 and each page added through further research receives the next consecutive number.

Then turn to the appropriate Research Log for each document or research note and fill in the column labeled "File #" with the number that you have placed on the bottom of that document. (see Figure 18)

At this point you may wish to make some indication on your Research Logs as to where you plan to go next if you have not already done so. Finally you will place the page(s) of documents behind all the Research Logs and fasten them together with small metal fasteners.

Eventually you may want to fill out some type of index to aid in the retrieval of information from your documents and research notes. When you reach this point, take the index form you have developed and go to your Family Research Folder. Then, with the help of the documents and Research Logs, list the document (describing it if desired), its file # and Log # in the place you have provided for such information to be placed. (see Figure 19)

As you continue your research and expand the number of Family Research Folders you have, you will notice that the documents for your direct ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.) could go into two Family Research Folders -- the one where they appear as parents on the family group record and the one where they appear as a child on the family group record. There are at least two ways of dealing with this situation:

(1) You could photocopy duplicate copies of each document and place a copy in both Family Research Folders, or

(2) you could place the documents in one of the Family Research Folders and cross-reference the other Family Research folder to the one that contains the document.