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Citing Online Sources: Difference between revisions
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= Citations = | = Citations = | ||
Citations exist to satisfy two needs. A citation should allow you to locate the source and to judge the quality of the source. You need to be able to find and check sources. Conclusion may look suspicious. (“Was my grandfather really born one month after his parents married?”). Or you may have reached a different conclusion. (“My sources indicate 1821, not 1820.”) You need to be able to judge the correctness of a genealogy by looking at the quality of the sources used.<ref> | Citations exist to satisfy two needs. A citation should allow you to locate the source and to judge the quality of the source. You need to be able to find and check sources. Conclusion may look suspicious. (“Was my grandfather really born one month after his parents married?”). Or you may have reached a different conclusion. (“My sources indicate 1821, not 1820.”) You need to be able to judge the correctness of a genealogy by looking at the quality of the sources used.<ref>Elizabeth Shown Mills, ''Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace'', PDF image (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2007), 10, 43.</ref> | ||
In forward looking disciplines like science and medicine it is easy to meet these two needs. It is easy to locate cited sources because the sources are journals. The quality of the source is easily determined by looking at the author’s name and the publication date. Is the author a well known expert, qualified to address the subject? Was the journal published recently? | In forward looking disciplines like science and medicine it is easy to meet these two needs. It is easy to locate cited sources because the sources are journals. The quality of the source is easily determined by looking at the author’s name and the publication date. Is the author a well known expert, qualified to address the subject? Was the journal published recently? | ||
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Genealogists find original sources in dusty courthouses, numerous archives, scattered graveyards, and in well worn church registers. Finding these sources in the first place was far from easy and explaining to someone else how to find them can be more difficult. Citation style guides from other disciplines provide little guidance in what information should be included for the large variation of manuscript, unpublished sources used by genealogists. | Genealogists find original sources in dusty courthouses, numerous archives, scattered graveyards, and in well worn church registers. Finding these sources in the first place was far from easy and explaining to someone else how to find them can be more difficult. Citation style guides from other disciplines provide little guidance in what information should be included for the large variation of manuscript, unpublished sources used by genealogists. | ||
Unlike experts in forward looking disciplines, the “experts” on the birth of your great-great-grandfather are not universally recognized. And they are dead. If the location or quality of the source requires it, add a short explanation.<ref> | Unlike experts in forward looking disciplines, the “experts” on the birth of your great-great-grandfather are not universally recognized. And they are dead. If the location or quality of the source requires it, add a short explanation.<ref>Mills, ''Evidence Explained'', 87, 142, 209, 272, 388, 407, 470, 633.</ref> | ||
Because genealogical sources are difficult to examine in person, many have been transcribed, microfilmed, or digitized. These copies are called derivative sources. Because the quality of a derivative depends heavily on the quality of the original and the type of derivative, the citation needs two parts: a citation of the derivative, including its type, and a citation to the original. We sometimes call the original “the source of the source.”<ref> | Because genealogical sources are difficult to examine in person, many have been transcribed, microfilmed, or digitized. These copies are called derivative sources. Because the quality of a derivative depends heavily on the quality of the original and the type of derivative, the citation needs two parts: a citation of the derivative, including its type, and a citation to the original. We sometimes call the original “the source of the source.”<ref>Mills, ''Evidence Explained'', 47-8, 52.</ref> | ||
To address these unique needs, Elizabeth Shown Mills published ''Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace''. Since American historians use ''The Chicago Manual of Style'',<ref> | To address these unique needs, Elizabeth Shown Mills published ''Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace''. Since American historians use ''The Chicago Manual of Style'',<ref>“The OAH Magazine of History Style Sheet,” ''Organization of American Historians'' ([http://www.oah.org http://www.oah.org]&amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;: accessed 17 July 2010); Diana Hacker, “History: Documenting Sources,” ''Research and Documentation Online'' ([http://dianahacker.com http://dianahacker.com]&amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;: accessed 17 July 2010).</ref> Elizabeth Shown Mills builds on it. Because ''Evidence Explained'' meets their unique needs, many genealogists use it. | ||
== Online Sources == | == Online Sources == | ||
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Citing online sources adds additional challenges. The World Wide Web is like a great desert covered in shifting sand. Hills and valleys move with the wind. Trees, rocks, and other landmarks come and go. Oases form and evaporate. Trails disappear. The web even has intentional mirages that suddenly appear and then are gone. Citations must account for these possibilities to the extent possible. | Citing online sources adds additional challenges. The World Wide Web is like a great desert covered in shifting sand. Hills and valleys move with the wind. Trees, rocks, and other landmarks come and go. Oases form and evaporate. Trails disappear. The web even has intentional mirages that suddenly appear and then are gone. Citations must account for these possibilities to the extent possible. | ||
Cite online sources as you would a book. Cite FamilySearch.org historical collections and Ancestry.com databases as if they were chapters in a book. | Cite online sources as you would a book.<ref>See ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', 15th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 597; hereinafter cited as CMOS. Genealogists may wish to use Kate L. Turabian, ''A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations'', 7th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007), 162. The title page of the 7th edition explains that it is “Chicago Style for Students and Researchers.”</ref> Cite FamilySearch.org historical collections and Ancestry.com databases as if they were chapters in a book.<ref>''CMOS'', 661-2 and Turabian, 177-9.</ref> | ||
=== Database and Images === | === Database and Images === | ||
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The source of the source is even more important for databases without images. When a database does not have images, you cannot tell if there are indexing errors. The source of the source citation in the following example tells you where to get a photocopy of the original record. | The source of the source is even more important for databases without images. When a database does not have images, you cannot tell if there are indexing errors. The source of the source citation in the following example tells you where to get a photocopy of the original record. | ||
<blockquote> 2. “Idaho Marriages, 1842-1996,” ''Ancestry.com'' (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 July 2010), search for Alonzo Raymond, married 1922; from “Upper Snake River Family History Center and Ricks College (Rexburg, Idaho),” citing “marriage book at the County Courthouse located in Bannock Co., ID in Volume 11 on Page 55.” </blockquote> | <blockquote> 2. “Idaho Marriages, 1842-1996,” ''Ancestry.com'' (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 July 2010), search for Alonzo Raymond, married 1922; from “Upper Snake River Family History Center and Ricks College (Rexburg, Idaho),” citing “marriage book at the County Courthouse located in Bannock Co., ID in Volume 11 on Page 55.” </blockquote> | ||
<br> Unlike the Texas Death example, this source of the source shows the typical practice. Simply “specify whatever the database gives as its source.” | <br> Unlike the Texas Death example, this source of the source shows the typical practice. Simply “specify whatever the database gives as its source.”<ref>Mills, ''Evidence Explained'', 301.</ref> | ||
= Entering Citations in | = Entering Citations in nFS [2010] = | ||
At the present time [2010], the new FamilySearch Tree makes it very difficult to enter sources. Here are some suggestions from | At the present time [2010], the new FamilySearch Tree makes it very difficult to enter sources. Here are some suggestions from users that may help until source entry is improved. I suggest doing what works for you. “Remember that the purpose of source citations is not to create paranoia or anxiety but to eliminate it.”<ref>Elizabeth Shown Mills, ''Evidence! Citation &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Analysis for the Family Historian'' (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997), 14.</ref> | ||
Make use of the browser’s drop down list of past entries. Copy and paste frequent sources from a separate document. Enter sources for the individual rather than for each event. | *Make use of the browser’s drop down list of past entries.<ref name="Grant" /> | ||
*Copy and paste frequent sources from a separate document.<ref name="Grant" /> | |||
*Enter sources for the individual rather than for each event.<ref name="Grant">Kathy Grant, “Entering Sources in nFS -- Tips and Improvements,” ''FHCNET'', Yahoo discussion group, ([http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHCNET http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHCNET]: [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHCNET/message/27009 5 June 2010, 8:17 pm], accessed 18 July 18, 2010).</ref> | |||
The | *Enter limited information.<ref>Gary Templeman, ''FHCNET'' ([http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHCNET/message/27011 6 June 2010, 2:57 am]); Venita Roylance, Ibid. ([http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHCNET/message/27021 6 June 2010, 5:36 pm]).</ref> | ||
*Enter citations into the notes so you can format as desired and synchronize with desktop genealogy data.<ref>Gaylon Findlay, ''FHCNET'' ([http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FHCNET/message/27025 6 June 2010, 8:23 pm]).</ref> | |||
The illustration below shows my method: place the entire citation into the Comments box. While I’ve duplicated some information in other boxes, strictly speaking this is not necessary. | |||
[Insert illustration here] | [Insert illustration here] | ||
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= Conclusion = | = Conclusion = | ||
To communicate the quality of a source, a citation needs to specify the source of the source. Sometimes it may be necessary | To communicate the quality of a source, a citation needs to specify the source of the source. Sometimes it may be necessary to add a comment. Cite online sources as you would a book. Citations must account for the constantly changing nature of the web. FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, and similar websites publish collections or databases that should be handled like chapters in a book. If a website makes it impossible to add a good source-of-the-source, reuse the citations provided by the website. | ||
== References == | |||
<references /><br> | <references /><br> | ||
[[Category:Citations]] | [[Category:Citations]] | ||