Pages

Sunday 17 September 2017

GenDoc Study Group 2

gendocstudygroup_logo_2x.png



Thomas​ ​W.​ ​Jones,​ ​​Mastering​ ​Genealogical​ ​Documentation​,​ ​(Arlington,​ ​Virginia:​ ​National
Genealogical​ ​Society,​ ​2017.)​ ​Softbound​ ​available​ ​from​ ​the​ ​publisher’s​ ​website
​ ​Kindle​ ​format​ ​at​ ​Amazon​ ​here:
Hilary​ ​Gadsby
Chapter​ ​2
“​Noncitation Aspects​ ​of​ ​Genealogical​ ​Documentation”
As​ ​a​ ​study​ ​group​ ​panelist​ ​I​ ​have​ ​been​ ​asked​ ​to​ ​write​ ​about​ ​a​ ​part​ ​of
the​ ​chapter​ ​that​ ​speaks​ ​to​ ​me.  

What documentation is required other than citing sources.

So you have a citation for your source but is that enough? The answer is a simple No.
So what else should we document?
We could document everything.
Whilst it is unlikely that any researcher would do so this could create a lengthy discussion of an entire research process.

We need to provide a conclusion and support it with adequate explanation and attributions.

​We​ ​must​ ​explain​ ​the​ ​quality​ ​of​ ​the​ ​information,​ ​demonstrate​ ​that​ ​we​ ​understand
the​ ​sources​ ​we​ ​have​ ​used​ ​and​ ​the​ ​particular​ ​qualities​ ​of​ ​each​ ​source,​ ​which​ ​may then ​affect​ ​how we​ ​weight​ ​its​ ​relevance​ ​and​ ​reliability.

Whilst an individual may have a good knowledge of a particular field the audience may not.
If we fail to provide appropriate discussion by omission we can cloud our readers appreciation of our work.

The format in which our conclusion and supporting documents are presented is important. Footnotes are preferable but it may be appropriate to use alternatives.

How we incorporate our citations in to our written conclusions is as important as creating an accurate citation.

In my post last week I showed a single family in a diagram but I did not provide any source information for the marriage births or deaths in that diagram. I have been trying to decide how to best add the citations.
The chapter this week uses annotations in a diagram as an example of a different way to add citations so as not to confuse citation annotation with dates. I want to show how I can do this.


The diagram boxes (which can be viewed by clicking on an individual or a circle) have been annotated with superscript letters which I will link to elsewhere within the blog so that the source citations and any discussion in the written conclusion will not distract the reader.
Joseph Buckle KDQQ-6RT (1868–1940) Elizabeth Ann Witt LZLT-ZYL (1870–1937) Henry Joseph Buckle LRMP-M77 (1895–1895) Albert Edward Victor Buckle K1DC-9CS (1902–1985) Leonard William Henry Buckle L8R4-687 (1907–1977)


No comments: