Researching One in Six Million

I thought Hilary Selznick's "Researching One in Six Million" was a great example of much genre has to do with the research methods that will be most effective for you while studying. Hilary realized that in order for her to tell her personal story, she first had to discover who her Grandmother was, as she had such a profound influence on her life. Hilary's mother recalls that "I (Hilary) reminded her of all the good parts of my grandmother". Because of this, Hilary went on a quest to dig up facts on her grandmother, who she (at the time) knew only as a person who was a Holocaust survivor, and seemed to be angry at life most of the time. Being a Holocaust survivor, Hilary realized quickly that secondary sources would not be as effective as primary ones, so she consulted her mother on the issue. Her mother was able to provide her with some but very little information, so Hilary decided to look up resources online in order to help her search. Contacting different Holocaust survivor organizations over the years, Hilary was eventually able to gather information on her Grandmother and Grandfather vis emails, and why they were they people that she knew as a child. Hilary realized that she would have to look "outside the box" when finding out information this personal- it would not be as easy as simply typing in her grandmothers name or "holocaust survivors" as they would yield results with little to no relevance to her interest. With stoic devotion to finding out her grandmother's past, Hilary via primary sources was able to uncover the time-lost secrets of her grandmother, eventually aiding her in telling her personal story to the world.