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Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes): Difference between revisions
Cite Your Sources (Source Footnotes) (view source)
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<span>The best way to judge the quality of a family group record is by its source footnotes.</span> | <span>The best way to judge the quality of a family group record is by its source footnotes.</span> | ||
<span>Citing your sources makes it easier to correlate and analyze sources against each other. It helps other researchers vet your work. It is a partial acknowledgment of the contributions of the authors you cite. Citing sources is the best way to avoid plagiarism. Also, the source in which an ancestor appears is one of the identifiers of that ancestor (like his name, date, place, and relationship identifiers). </span> | <span>Citing your sources makes it easier to correlate and analyze sources against each other. It helps other researchers vet your work. It is a partial acknowledgment of the contributions of the authors you cite. Citing sources is the best way to avoid plagiarism. Also, the source in which an ancestor appears is one of the identifiers of that ancestor (like his name, date, place, and relationship identifiers).</span> | ||
== <span></span>'''<span>When to add source citations</span>''' == | == <span></span>'''<span>When to add source citations</span>''' == | ||
<span>Add a source citation '''''every time''''' you add an event to a family group record. Add a source citation for '''''every event''''' mentioned on each source. The best time to enter source footnotes is at the same time as you enter the event information. [[Document AS YOU GO!]] | <span>Add a source citation '''''every time''''' you add an event to a family group record. Add a source citation for '''''every event''''' mentioned on each source. The best time to enter source footnotes is at the same time as you enter the event information. [[Document AS YOU GO!]] | ||
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<span>Link each source citation to the event(s) it documents. For example, a marriage license may also divulge birth information and should be cited for both the marriage and the birth. Cite the census source for each member of the family listed. (This is easily accomplished in Personal Ancestral File (PAF) by using the '''Memorize Citation''' button, and '''Use Memorized Citation''' button.)</span> | <span>Link each source citation to the event(s) it documents. For example, a marriage license may also divulge birth information and should be cited for both the marriage and the birth. Cite the census source for each member of the family listed. (This is easily accomplished in Personal Ancestral File (PAF) by using the '''Memorize Citation''' button, and '''Use Memorized Citation''' button.)</span> | ||
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* <span>Page</span> | * <span>Page</span> | ||
<span> | <span></span> | ||
* <span>Optional library or archive call number</span> | * <span>Optional library or archive call number</span> | ||
* <span>Brief preliminary evaluation comment about the source</span> | * <span>Brief preliminary evaluation comment about the source</span> | ||
<br | <br><span></span> | ||
<span>In practice the first five elements are sometimes complicated and may be hard-to-find details. For example, who is the author, what is the title, and what is the date of an untitled parish register kept over many years by several ministers?</span> | <span>In practice the first five elements are sometimes complicated and may be hard-to-find details. For example, who is the author, what is the title, and what is the date of an untitled parish register kept over many years by several ministers?</span> | ||
<span>Most archives and libraries have already used these elements to describe the source in their catalog. So using the repository catalog helps the researcher cite the elements of the footnote in a way that will help other researchers find the same source at the same repository. </span> | <span>Most archives and libraries have already used these elements to describe the source in their catalog. So using the repository catalog helps the researcher cite the elements of the footnote in a way that will help other researchers find the same source at the same repository.</span> | ||
<span>On the other hand, as researchers rely more and more on the Internet, new questions arise about how to cite sources from a “repository” that changes so often.</span> | <span>On the other hand, as researchers rely more and more on the Internet, new questions arise about how to cite sources from a “repository” that changes so often.</span> | ||
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[[Solving Tough Research Problems—Overcoming Brick Walls|Solving Tough Research Problems--Overcoming Brick Walls]] | [[Solving Tough Research Problems—Overcoming Brick Walls|Solving Tough Research Problems--Overcoming Brick Walls]] | ||
[[Category:Beginners]] | |||