Now that we've discussed how to clearly identify the immigrant, we need to cover another important topic: how to most effectively search the various records that include immigrants. Of course, each record is different, and includes unique information about the immigrant it covers. However, there are some basic aspects of searching the records that apply to all immigrant situations, regardless of the record, time period, or ethnic origin of the immigrant. All too often, in our rush to locate information about the town where our immigrant came from, we overlook other important pieces of information within the record. If it does not name the town of origin, we set it aside, paying no attention to the significant information that is in the record. This is why we have just spent so much time on both minimum and additional identification elements for our immigrants. Sometimes it is these very elements of identification we are overlooking when we do not carefully evaluate a record and glean every bit of information out of it.