One of the most important principles of public SPASE is that wherever people are exploring the origins of their villages they should use, when possible, the same basic methods of evidence collection. By so doing the results of each local project will be easily compared with others. Over time it is our hope that an enormous database will be created that will allow for a greater understanding of the processes by which rural settlements took form in the early middle ages.

On these research pages you will find practical guides to a range of techniques that you might consider using. These will take you step-by-step through each process, from initial preparation to the presentation of results.

In each case we have identified how small local groups might get access to specialist equipment and expertise, because we are aware that not everyone has a resistivity meter, or the linguistic skills to unpick a place-name, or a profound knowledge of pottery (who does?).

Money is always tight, we know, so we have looked for ways in which this work can be carried out to the highest academic standards without breaking the bank. In the end, it is your time, energy, and local knowledge that will make all the difference.

Depending on the area, some techniques will inevitably work better than others, so the advantages and disadvantages of certain approaches in particular regions has also been addressed.

None of the methods suggested need preclude working in other modes. public SPASE is not a dictatorship! But the methods we suggest will always work well as an initial survey. Thereafter you may wish to do things differently.

You might also like to take a look at the 'Settlement Families' section of this website, where we have started to put together resources and pointers to the latest thinking about places which share particular names. If you are living in a 'thorp' or a 'wick' or a 'bury' for instance, you will be able to compare your findings with others working in similarly named places. What is the common denominator these places share that meant their namers used the same way of describing them? There are some ideas out there, often based on flimsy evidence, so your research will help to prove or disprove the scholarly debate.