- Citing your sources
- Why?
- Know where you got a fact (you will NOT remember!)
- Allow you and others to evaluate your reasoning and compare conflicting sources
- Help others find possibly relevant sources
- How?
- “Citation is an art, not a science.” (EE, pg 41)
- General format:
- Author/creator
- Title
- Identifying info (Item type, creation date, ID number)
- Repository & location (unpublished)
- Publisher & location
- Mnemonic: Who, What, When, Where in, Where is
- Do you ever write notes about a source in your citation?
- Quality of a microfilmed or digital image, difficult handwriting
- Note spelling differences or date discrepancies and why this is or is not critical
- Where do you discuss conflicts with other sources? Minor ones in citations, major ones in main text or a separate note
- Do you use the templates in your genealogy software?
- Pros — help with formatting, may be able to reuse sources
- Cons — probably won’t transfer if you need to switch software using GEDCOM, may be harder to use templates than to just write the citation directly
- Why?
- Resources
- Evidence Explained, by Elizabeth Shown Mills
- Book (3rd edition, Sep 2015)
- Quick Reference Sheets — we really liked the one Bob brought to show. Available on Amazon
- Facebook.com/evidenceexplained
- https://www.evidenceexplained.com/
- Facebook: Citing your sources group facebook.com/citesources
- http://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/19_wylie.html
- Thomas MacEntee’s quick reference guide: http://www.geneabloggers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Genealogy-Source-Citations-Quick-Reference.pdf
- A free book on citation: http://www.capitalareagenealogy.org/documents/Guide_to_Documentation.pdf
- Cyndi’s List: http://www.cyndislist.com/citing/citations-in-genealogy/
- https://freshpickeddeals.com/familytreemagazine.com/5-elements-of-good-source-citations-802423
- An EE alternative for Rootsmagic users: http://www.simplecitations.com/index.html
- Randy Seaver’s Rootsmagic tutorial (part 1 of several): http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/01/creating-source-citations-in-rootsmagic.html
- Randy Seaver’s Family Tree Maker tutorial: http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/01/a-family-tree-maker-2014-source.html
- Evidence Explained, by Elizabeth Shown Mills
