Educational Resources
What is Genealogy?
Genealogy is 'the making of a pedigree’. So, it is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of lineages. See Online Etymology Dictionary: www.etymonline.com
Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members.
Results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives.
The field of family history is broader than genealogy and covers not just lineage but also family and community history and biography.
References
Genealogy vs Ancestry: https://genealogypals.com/genealogy-vs-ancestry-differences-and-why-they-matter/
UK’s Society of Genealogists. http://www.sog.org.uk/learn/education-sub-page-for-testing-navigation/guide-ten/
Beginners
Start by looking at your own family in the US and gather vital records (birth, marriage, death) plus baptism, burial, and census records. Typical questions to answer are:
Where did they live and for how long?
What jobs did your parents have?
Siblings? and/or other close family members?
Become comfortable with the process of looking & working backwards in time. See the North American Genealogical Center & Næseth Library (NAGCNL) for help: https://www.nagcnl.org/getting-started/
Seek information on, and vital records for, another generation back in the US. There are templates available to help organize your information. For example: Sons of Norway Cultural Skills for Genealogy, National Genealogical Society, and even Ancestry.com.
Intermediate and Advanced
If you are an intermediate or advanced genealogical sleuth, then you are likely already seeking Norwegian records and information.
An oft-used website: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Norway_Genealogy presents data types, educational resources, plus has Norwegian county maps linked to their records.
Some degree of familiarity with Norwegian language is very beneficial – as you progress it will become more of a necessity. Below are two starter word and abbreviation lists:
The Foundation for East European Family History Studies - https://feefhs.org/sites/default/files/guide/Norwegian-wordlist.pdf
Abbreviations from University of North Dakota Library – https://apps.library.und.edu/bygdebok/research-guide
Become more familiar with genealogical data, information, and analysis. Consider joining a local genealogical society and attend some of their meetings and/or conferences. For example---
VA - Virginia Genealogical Society (VGS): https://www.vgs.org/ ; Fairfax County: https://fxgs.org/; and Mt. Vernon https://mvgenealogy.org
MD - Maryland Genealogical Society: https://www.mdgensoc.org; Montgomery County: https://mocogensoc.org ; and Anne Arundel County: https://aagensoc.org
The National Genealogical Society offers 3 levels of classes: 1) Foundation; 2) Advanced; and 3) Focused topics under ‘Continuing Studies’. See - https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/genealogy-courses/
The Family History Library schedules periodic Nordic Day webinars
Expressly on Denmark, Norway and Sweden. However, there are sometimes independent webinars. Plus, there are classes on Iceland and Finland. Topics include history, organization of national and ecclesiastical records, locating and interpreting those records, etc.
Sign-up for notices: fhlclasses@familysearch.org . Advance registration is required.
Can view past webinars. Scroll down to find Norway in the right-hand column. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Classes_in_the_Learning_Center
The NAGCNL organization holds periodic webinars on Norwegian language and genealogy. You can find their schedules at https://www.nagcnl.org/events/