Whenever we are successful at anything, it is because we have followed certain laws or principles that lead to that success. The law of gravity and other laws of physics for example are always consistent and when we use them properly we can bounce a ball, fly in a plane or siphon gas out of an automobile. We don't need to know all the details about the laws to use them successfully but the more we understand the laws of the universe, the more success we have in implementing them to achieve our desired goals.
If we want to find information about our genealogy (or anything else), the more we know the more easily and quickly we can generally achieve the desired results. When we understand what it is we are looking for, what clues are important, where to go to find the information and how to use the facilities that allow us access to that information, the quicker and more consistently we will succeed.