While the paper forms that have been used to organize genealogy projects for decades remain popular, an ever-growing number of family historians are relying on computers to keep records in order and to share the results of their research. Many individuals have no interest in working with computers, however. The tried and true method of manually recording and documenting research findings will always be favored by some. Again, it is the quality of the research being recorded and documented that is most important, not the medium that is used. Standard organizational forms are available from many genealogical societies and from some genealogical libraries, specialty shops, and through mail-order catalogs. Ancestry Incorporated, for example, offers a full array of forms for genealogical record keeping.

There are many advantages to using a computer to organize your research. Most computer-generated genealogical forms follow the same general format of the traditional pedigree charts and family group sheets that have been in use for decades. Instead of the time-consuming work of recording information about an individual manually on multiple sheets of paper, however, genealogical programs make it possible for you to enter names, dates, places, and relationships for an individual into the computer only once, whereupon the program will automatically recognize the individual and link him or her to the appropriate family and generation.